Wendy Murphy: It’s time for change at the Massachusetts State Police
State Police Col. Kerry Gilpin’s retirement announcement was no surprise, but now people want to know what Gov. Charlie Baker’s going to do to fix this law enforcement agency’s tattered reputation, starting with the appointment of a person with actual leadership skills.
Leadership under Gilpin was nonexistent. When her troopers were doing perp walks, she was in hiding. By saying and doing nothing after every scandal, Gilpin added to growing public anxiety about whether anyone in a uniform can be trusted. The steady parade of state troopers in the news facing criminal charges for stealing the public’s money, and then the accusations of flashing genitals and badges at a concert, has made it harder for all decent police officers to do their jobs.
For law enforcement to work, the people must respect the badge. Under Gilpin, that respect was waning. It’s unconscionable how some cops are treated in this country, but Gilpin did nothing to address the worsening reputation of the State Police.
It wasn’t that long ago that the State Police uniform commanded only respect. The venerated status of state troopers in society represented honor and decency, but that was before all the headlines.
Gilpin’s replacement must have a firm grasp of the department’s internal chaos and external image problems, and a plan to make things better.
The new colonel must understand that we the people own those badges and guns, and we entrust them to troopers who are supposed to use their power to protect and serve, not pervert and steal. Here are some steps the new colonel must consider:
- Mandatory character and duty retraining — not to teach troopers not to steal or expose themselves, but to inspire them to be the role models they should be, that kids can look up to, and adults admire. Not a lot of people aspire to be cops these days. Why would anyone want a job where the public wonders whether you’re a bad guy? Being a cop should be a noble and important job, for which there should be lots of competition, yet the applicant pool is scarce. When you don’t have a lot of candidates to choose from, leadership and training matters even more because there’s a greater risk of hiring a bad apple.
- Change in policy regarding overtime and details. The current system makes troopers greedy, and makes the public cynical about whether they’re wasting tax dollars. We should encourage and support people who want to work more, and welcome the added police presence details bring. Allowing cops to make extra money also reduces the risk of corruption and makes the job more appealing. But when the department’s culture becomes obsessed with making money, the internal ethos of the agency turns rotten and everyone is affected.
- Change the uniforms. Seriously — jodhpurs and jackboots belong to another time.
The new colonel must be able to effectively communicate the vital role of law enforcement, and the importance of putting the public interest first.
That Gilpin didn’t understand this is reflected in her decision to stay as long as she did — only exactly as long as she had to, at 25 years, to maximize her pension. She is leaving a demoralized law enforcement agency in crisis. That suggests she has put her own interests first. A leader who prioritized the public interest wouldn’t be leaving this mess.
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from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2NpmBWT
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