BROOKLINE – The Town of Brookline is beginning its search for a permanent police chief.
Per Town Administrator Chas Carey, the Town will post the position publicly tomorrow as the first step in a search that will be carried out by a screening panel comprised of community stakeholders, with a goal of recommending a final candidate to the Select Board by spring.
“We are eager to do the work of identifying candidates and selecting the person who is ultimately best suited to lead the Brookline Police Department in a way that puts our community first,” Carey said. “In approaching this work, the Town will prioritize expediency, transparency and thoroughness.”
The screening panel includes Police Commissioners’ Advisory Committee (PCAC) and Town Meeting Members Karen Ambrose and C. Scott Ananian, Town Meeting Member and Moderators’ Advisory Committee Member Joslin Murphy, Select Board Member Mike Sandman and Brookline Community Foundation Director Aba Taylor.
Applications will be accepted through Feb. 11, with preference given to those who apply before Feb. 1. Candidates selected for further consideration will first be required to submit a written exercise, which the screening panel and Carey will review utilizing a standardized rubric and without the candidates’ names or identifying information included.
Then, candidates will be invited to interview with the screening panel, after which the names on the candidates’ written exercises will be revealed. Through a combination of interview feedback and scoring on the written component, select candidates may be invited for the next phase of the process — a mock Select Board meeting in which candidates will be asked to prepare and give a presentation on a provided topic.
Following this phase, the panel will recommend a candidate to Carey for his advancement to the Select Board, pending the successful completion of an extensive background investigation and reference checks.
Throughout the hiring process, Carey and the screening panel will rely upon the extensive community feedback collected in 2022 as a guide throughout the search process. Carey will attend the public PCAC meeting currently scheduled for Jan. 30 to discuss the process further.
Jennifer Paster is currently serving as Brookline’s acting chief.
To see the job posting and position profile, visit Brooklinema.gov.