This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Police May Have Strategic Plan By Summer

Advisory Committee is formed to develop a plan following the controversy over Allie Castner's death.

Marblehead took the first step Wednesday to creating a three-year strategic plan for its Police Department, making the town one of the few police departments in the area to have one.

The Police Action Plan Review Committee, which met for the first time, is charged with reviewing and expanding on the and provide the Board of Selectmen with an action plan for the department for the future.

The committee was formed by the selectmen after the town commissioned a

Find out what's happening in Marbleheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Only the Beverly Police Department has a strategic plan like the one being developed for Marblehead, Police Chief Robert Picariello said.

Phil Devaux, a former Marblehead school superintendent, acted as facilitator for the committee. He predicted that the committee, meeting twice a month, would complete the action plan by June and have it ready for presentation to the selectmen in July or August, ahead of the September deadline imposed by the selectmen.

Find out what's happening in Marbleheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In addition to Devaux, the committee includes Picariello, Fire Chief Jason Gilliland, Jeff Shribman, former chairman of the board of selectmen, Pat Roberts, director of the Council on Aging, Ken Weinstein, high school principal, Paul Crosby, Marblehead Counseling Center, Ann Marie Casey, director of the chamber of commerce, Police Lieutenant Matthew Freeman and Detective Sean Brady, who represent the police union.

The committee elected Shribman chairman of the committee.

After discussing the possibility of adding a high school student to the committee, the committee voted to appoint Patricia Moore, a leadership coach and member of the Finance Committee, and Marshall (Fred) Bauer, who has served on several town committees and initiatives.

The committee decided not to appoint a student to the committee when Devaux suggested a better approach would be to hold a forum at the high school so more students could express their opinions about how the police department might be improved.

It was suggested that having a student on the committee would be helpful because the police interact often with young people. Weinstein and other committee members said a student member would have a lot to contribute.

The committee also decided not to ask a retired or current police chief from a nearby town to join the committee. Marblehead is different from most other towns, particularly the large cities, several members of the committee said.

The proposed mission statement for the department that will be under consideration is: “To be a high performing organizaiton with a common purpose, good working environment and professional conduct among all employees dedicated to serve and protect the residents, business people and visitors of Marblehead.”

The committee will focus much of its attention on the issues of leadership and governance, community outreach and training. But other issues may also be considered, Devaux said.

The proposed action plan developed by the committee will be presented to the selectmen, who will act on its recommendations.

civil service

One issue – whether the police chief should be under civil service – may be decided in

Removing the window tinting was easy. The tinting film peeled easily off the windows, he said.

Walking patrols are slated to begin in April, the chief said.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?