04/08/04   WHAT DALLAS NEEDS IN A NEW POLICE CHIEF

		On March 29th, I was on the list of eight finalists for the Police Chief?s position in Dallas. The professional management consultant hired by the City and the City Manager?s Office and Human Resources Department developed the final ?List of Eight? after meeting with and agreeing on the best candidates who merited advancement to the formal interview process.
The next day, an expanded list of twelve ?finalists? was released to the public and my name was not included.  At least two others who were also informed that they were on the ?List of Eight? were not on the expanded list of twelve.  To date, the details of why this happened remain a mystery.

For the last seven months, I have talked with and listened to hundreds of police officers, individually and in groups, met with dozens of community and business leaders and visited with scores of honest, hardworking citizens of Dallas. In addition, I poured over the minutiae of a 300 million dollar police budget, examined personnel assignment rosters, organizational charts and policy manuals. While identifying problems and solutions, I prepared to demonstrate my knowledge and qualifications for the Chief?s position in the formal interview process.

I am no stranger to the executive selection process. I was a finalist for the Dallas chief?s position in 1988 and was later selected to serve as Chief of Police in two other large cities. I knew that one of the first questions in any professional interview would be ?What do you believe are the skills and qualities that we need in our next Chief of Police??

Given the opportunity, this would have been my response:

First, above all other qualities, Dallas needs a leader --

A Chief who, by personal skills and experience is able to lead, inspire, motivate, inform and train the Dallas Police Department to restore pride in the organization, build morale and regain the trust of the citizens.

A Chief who knows that he must first concentrate on improving the working conditions of the field officers, investigators and front-line supervisors who will be called upon to implement the improvements and plans necessary to achieve the goals that are collectively developed.

A Chief who is open, honest and forthright in dealing with people and issues that affect the quality of life in the city and inside the police department.

A Chief who will focus the department back on the basics of crime reduction, call response and community responsibility.

A Chief who has courage -- who has experience in tackling tough issues, building winning teams and overcoming adversity.

A Chief who can and will make tough decisions, is not afraid of criticism, will take responsibility for his actions and give credit for success to others.

A Chief who is highly educated at both the college level and through practical experience as a police officer and advanced professional training.

A Chief who has achieved national recognition for his policing skills, creative innovation and command leadership in difficult assignments.

A Chief who has earned his position by a succession of competitive promotions through the ranks culminating in being the police chief of a major city over 200,000 population.  There is no substitute for multiple command position experience and actually being ?THE Chief?.

A Chief who has command experience in the hiring, selection and training of recruit police officers -- a Chief with a reputation for establishing quality standards and insuring that all who aspire to be a Dallas Police Officer meets these standards and that they are applied equally.

A Chief who is personally known by the men and women of the Dallas Police Department.

A Chief who the officers trust, support and will follow his leadership because they know he will take care of them, support them when they are right and justly correct them when they make mistakes.

A Chief who publicly represents the police department, city government and the citizens in a professional and competent manner by his ability to develop comprehensive written documents, establish a visual command presence and utilize effective verbal communication skills.

A Chief who has command experience in the planning processes to insure that a quality, respected police department stays ahead of the curve in acquiring enhanced technology, utilization of creative innovation and effective use of limited resources to better serve the citizens.

A Chief who ?speaks the language? of the Dallas Police Department and is knowledgeable about the history, traditions and structure of both the department and the city -- a Chief who will not need a long learning adjustment period before beginning to implement improvements.

A Chief who is committed to the job and has a passionate concern for the Dallas Police Department and the citizens of Dallas that extends beyond a salary -- a Chief who does the job not for money or prestige but for the honor and dedication to service that is his nature.

A Chief who is both confident and caring -- persuasive and personal -- disciplined and determined -- a consensus building Chief who knows that hands-on knowledge acquired in his career and observing others who perform the actual tasks is worth far more than a hundred staff reports.

and

Dallas needs a Chief whose appointment will energize the outstanding men and women of the Dallas Police Department, and the citizens of Dallas, with the confidence and pride that exemplifies a truly great city.

Editor's comments:  Chief Stone, Chief Lowell Cannady, Chief Doug Kowalski were on the first list of 8 recommendations and were cut from the City MisManager's final 12 candidates, which includes Danny Garcia (a personal friend to Benavides).  Ted Benavides has a racial basis and personal resentment toward White guys who happen to be a lot smarter and more capable than he has ever been or ever could be.  This is a serious loss to the City of Dallas by not having one of these three qualified and experienced and former DPD Asst. Chiefs, who have all gone on to serve as Chief of Police in better managed cities who do not rank as the nation's crime capital.  sb