Your Opinion: Police chief selection
Clayton Hill
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
Our new First Ward Councilman Jack Deeken has jumped in feet first into his new responsibilities. Bully for him. He wants to bring real change to the direction and the way of doing business by our city. Too much status quo means more of the same unresponsive and irresponsible local government.
Councilman Deeken has questioned the selection process for our new police chief – in particular, who is on or making the selection for the important job that will shape crime enforcement here for years. Deeken desired more law enforcement representation; so, do I. Are changes to this committee at this point possible?
Rod Chapel of the NAACP, Natalie Newville of the Downtown Business Association, and Ann Bax from the United Way may very well be civic leaders with meritorious intent, but their value to set the city toward less crime and to a safer community is questionable. Regarding Chapel, there are plenty of current officers on the existing department staff to represent the "Black community," including Lt. David Williams, so I disagree with Mr. Deeken that existing law enforcement should not be on the committee unless they are seeking the job. Maybe two of the previous councilmen or a previous head of Public Safety would be a better choice than the NAACP representative. I would like a chief who will set the direction to less crime overall, and that means stricter enforcement for even the lesser offenses. Then maybe we can see less press in the local paper about crimes here.