San Rafael Neighbors Want New Police Chief to be the 'Face of the City'

San Rafael needs a new police chief who is experienced with community outreach and looking to stay in the department for more than a few years, San Rafael neighbors told a job consultant in a recent public meeting.

Since , the city hired Phil McKenney, from executive consulting firm Peck & McKenney, to find a new candidate for the position. In a public meeting held at the on Thursday, McKenney met with a small group of neighbors to discuss what they were looking for in a new police chief.

Neighbors criticized Odetto for his lack of communication with residents and wanted more emphasis on community policing to balance limited resources.

“Community policing doesn’t exist in San Rafael,” said Steve Patterson, chair of the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods. “You go out to neighborhoods and people don’t know who their beat officer is.”

In the face of budget cuts, the ’s number of authorized positions went from 104 to 87 in the past four years–a 16 percent decrease. Due to recent gang-related violence in the area, neighbors are concerned about police response times and following-up with residents after they’ve placed calls.

“The police need to communicate with community to build up trust,” Lincoln-San Rafael Hill neighbor Patrick Murphy said. Murphy retold a few accounts of neighbors who placed calls but never heard back from dispatchers.

“That community partnership needs to be integrated,” he said, noting that this perspective could trickle down to individual officers from a new police chief who has strong communication skills.

Neighbors also hope the new candidate would be looking to stay in the department longer than previous police chiefs.

Odetto was San Rafael’s 15th police chief. Since 1997, four police chiefs have moved through the police department, according to police spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher.

“The national average length of a police chief’s position in a department is about two to four years,” she said.

Because most police chiefs accept their new positions after a long career, they are usually a few years away from retirement when they get promoted, she said.

The consultation, search and screening process for the new candidate will cost the city approximately $20,000, with $16,500 going to pay McKenney and approximately $3,500 going to advertising.

The deadline to apply for the position is Sept. 23, McKenney said.

“Hopefully, we’ll find someone who is the face of the city,” he said.