Pubdate: Mon, 11 Aug 2003
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2003 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Joseph D. McNamara

IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE POLICE CHIEF

The announcement that Bill Lansdowne is to be police chief of San Diego 
signals both good and bad news for San Jose. The good news is that the 
selection of Lansdowne is a tribute to his and San Jose's accomplishments 
and leadership. It is also a recognition that the performance of San Jose's 
cops continues to mark it as a model for large city police departments. The 
downside is that the job of the police is far more difficult and complex 
than a quarter of a century ago when I took the helm as San Jose police 
chief. It makes it all the more important that the city get the selection 
of Lansdowne's successor right.

Police chiefs may wear four stars on their shoulders, but that's where the 
resemblance to a military commander's authority ends. The police are 
civilians, public servants, not soldiers. Consequently, police chiefs do 
not and should not have the authority of generals.

Police chiefs like to joke that successful chiefs appear to walk on water, 
but they prevail only because they know where the submerged rocks lurk in 
the creek. In other words, an effective police chief must lead in the face 
of myriad state laws, labor contracts and political influences that work to 
obstruct what needs to be done. Barking out orders simply doesn't get the 
job done.

Furthermore, our nation's expectations of the police have evolved 
considerably since the first police force was formed in New York City in 
1845. People now routinely count on the police to do the impossible, like 
keeping their kids from being exposed to and using pot. And since 9/11, 
cops throughout the nation are expected to spot terrorists and nail them 
before they attack us. Although the police are supposed to do so much more, 
the public doesn't cotton to police chiefs whining about severe budget 
shortfalls.

Challenges ahead

Despite these difficulties, we in America are fortunate in having, with 
some glaringly painful exceptions, dedicated police officers and police 
leaders. Yet the challenges ahead are unprecedented. In a recent speech, 
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist referred to inter arma 
silent leges -- Latin legalese meaning that in times of war, the laws are 
silent. In other words, as the war against terrorism escalates, police 
chiefs will not be able to entirely rely on court rules to establish the 
necessary balance between police actions to protect the innocent and 
observing individual rights. Even more than usual is hanging on the 
shoulders of San Jose's city manager and elected officials in choosing a 
new chief.

Typically, large cities with troubled police forces go outside to select a 
new chief. Cities with low crime rates where the police enjoy the public 
trust usually pick the new top cop from inside. Moreover, jurisdictions 
where the mayor or other elected officials hold strong power tend to select 
police chiefs from within who have political pull. Cities run by 
professional city managers prefer national searches in which inside 
candidates compete with outsiders.

Range of experience

I left a fairly high position in the New York City Police Department to 
become police chief of Kansas City, Mo., when the chief of that city was 
named director of the FBI. I came to San Jose three years later, when it 
hired me in another national search after its police chief was asked to leave.

Thus, my 35 years in policing took place in New York, under a mayor with 
near dictatorial powers; in Kansas City, under a police commission 
appointed by the governor of Missouri; and in San Jose, under a city 
manager appointed by the mayor and city council. My conclusion is that the 
governmental structure responsible for the selection and supervision of a 
police chief is less important than the character, integrity and competence 
of the city officials in power.

San Jose has a good selection process in place that allows for input by the 
public, elected officials and the city's professional staff. I study police 
departments and criminal justice nationally. I confess my bias. A city the 
size of San Jose should do a national search to select the very best. But 
the San Jose brass, including Assistant Chief Tom Wheatly, Lansdowne's 
alter ego, will have a decided advantage over other candidates from 
departments seeking to emulate what San Jose police commanders have already 
achieved.

JOSEPH D. MCNAMARA served as San Jose police chief from 1976-1991. The 
author of five books, he is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at 
Stanford University. He wrote this for the Mercury News.