Mayor Joseph P. Ganim
Bridgeport, CT
________________________________________
I’d like to share with you the process and timeline that the City of Bridgeport is following in the selection of a police chief for our city. I thank those who have participated and invite others to share their input.
Civil Service began the process outlined by the city charter in March of this year. The city retained an outside consultant with extensive experience in the field of recruiting leadership positions. This consultant had also been contracted in the past to execute the selection of a former police chief for Bridgeport.
During this process, forums were hosted with local organizations and stakeholders including the general public, local community groups such as Bridgeport Community Collaborative for Youth (BCCY), as well as the Civil Service Commission, Police Commission, Labor Relations, the Fire Chief, Emergency Operation Center (EOC), the Police Department, Police Union, and Common Council members.
These open forums were noticed in the newspaper in print and digital editions to promote the meetings hosted in May of this year. People were also able to email their input directly to the consultant. This procedure allowed everyone to openly share his or her input in person or via email. This valuable information was utilized to establish the criteria in the application.
The acceptance of applications for the position of police chief began with public announcements and advertisements in May. These announcements were published in national and international publications such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Professionals, Women in Law Enforcement, Hispanic Law Enforcement Association and the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association. The consultant and Civil Service received responses from candidates of departments across the country, as well as from our own police department.
When the application deadline closed on June 15th, the formal testing process of the applicants began. Thirteen individuals passed a review for consideration from numerous applicants. Seven of those applicants advanced and became semi-finalist candidates, four from Connecticut, two from Texas and one from Illinois.
These semi-finalists then met with a panel of five professionals selected by the consultant. These experts serve or served as police chiefs, human resource directors, town managers and labor relations professionals of other communities. This panel conducted interviews with the semi-finalists and selected their top candidates.
This week the top three candidates have been certified to me by our Civil Service Personnel Director and their names were announced. Over the next few weeks I will review these candidates and seek out further input from the community and ultimately select and appoint our next police chief.
The names and resumes of our three finalists, as well as information about the process, the application, and panel of experts, can be found here
http://www.bridgeportct.gov/policesearch
Since taking office my administration has hired one hundred new police officers, reinstated community policing, advanced department technology and systems, and have taken great strides in reducing crime. My commitment to improve public safety in the City of Bridgeport for our residents and for our schools continues to be a top priority.
Please feel free to email your feedback as input from our residents continues to be of value in this process. Send your email to mayor@bridgeportct.gov.
Thank you for continued support.
Joseph P. Ganim
Mayor