City of Ithaca
Chief of Police Search Process
COMMUNITY SAYS TOP COP CRITERIA SHAPED BY POLICE
The city's Police Chief Screening Committee will likely meet tonight to respond to community concerns that police officers had disproportionate input in prioritizing the desired criteria for the next police chief.
"The screening committee is aware of the concerns sensitive to the process and will make the necessary adjustments," Mayor Alan Cohen said Tuesday night.
Some members of the public raised the issue at Monday night's public forum on the police chief search process. The 12-member screening committee typically meets after the public meetings to discuss the community reactions.
Through a process of public forums and meetings, the screening committee came up with a list of 74 criteria the community wants in the next police chief. Afterward, members of the public rated each item from "extremely important" to "not very important."
Cohen said that as many as half of the rating forms turned in were from police officers.
"So there are some legitimate concerns that a disproportionate number of those came from one constituency and possibly skewed the results," Cohen said.
Officer Bill Finnerty, a member of the screening committee, said many officers-as members of the community-participated in the process. Criteria rating forms were available at the police station for officers. Those same forms were also available elsewhere for other city residents.
When the committee meets again, one possibility would be for the group to weigh each item evenly, Cohen said.
"The process has already generated a listing of characteristics important to the community," Cohen said. "They all might be considered equally."
The screening committee must now narrow down the applicant pool before the mayor makes the final selection by mid- to late-April.
The city is replacing Harlin McEwen, who resigned in February 1996 to take a job with the FBI in Washington. David Barnes, who was deputy chief, has been acting chief since McEwen's departure but has said he does not want the top job permanently.
The Ithaca Journal
February 12, 1997
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