Search for new police chief down to eight

CRESTVIEW — The search for a new chief of police for the Crestview Police Department is in full swing.

City Manager Tim Bolduc said the advertisement for the position ran for over a month, resulting in 36 people from all around the nation applying for the position.

After the application period closed, Bolduc turned the resumes over to a public safety panel.

“The panel consists of two fire chiefs, two captains from the Sherriff’s Office and some retired law enforcement officers from the state and county levels.” Bolduc said. “I decided on two fire chiefs because it is important that they be able to coordinate with other agencies.”

Bolduc said the panel reviewed the applicants and determined who were the most qualified based on the resumes.

“I want the applicant that is chosen to come in and be able to assess the talent we have and be able to develop it,” Bolduc said. “The panel was looking for a certain experience-type that could take a department that has been through some turmoil and rebuild the confidence and take it upwards from there.”

After reviewing each applicant’s resume, the panel narrowed the search to 11. The number has since dropped to eight due to three applicants dropping out of the running.

Bolduc said the eight remaining candidates were mailed a questionnaire.

“The questionnaire asks about their leadership style and law enforcement knowledge, some of it is technical stuff,” Bolduc said. “They had two weeks to respond. We will get those back next week, at which time we will determine if we need to do any Skype calls with them.”

Bolduc said the goal is to narrow the candidates down to three, with two alternates to bring in for face-to-face interviews.

The candidates will then meet in-person with the law enforcement panel and a civilian panel.

“The civilian panel will be a cross section of the community so they can ask questions from a community perspective,” Bolduc said. “Those groups will brief me on their impressions and give me suggestions on their top two.”

Bolduc said the candidates would also meet with the different department heads from the city.

On Aug. 5, the city will hold a mingling-type scenario where anyone from the public can come and meet the candidates and talk with them.

“I want to see how they interact with our community,” Bolduc said. “After that, I will go see the final candidates in their work environment, if they aren’t from this area. While I’m there, I will talk with some of the people they work with and see what they think of them.”

The final decision for chief of police position will be up to Bolduc, who said he hopes to have the selection made by the middle of August.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Search for new police chief down to eight