Portland Press Herald
PORTLAND, Maine — Portland’s new chief of police, James Craig, might have been expected to bring a few big-city police practices with him to Maine’s largest city. Which, considering the chief is a veteran of service in both Detroit and Los Angeles, would seem more like a small town, despite its status as the state’s most populous urban center.
Instead of jumping in with both feet, however, Chief Craig has begun to make his mark with small things. He has allowed dispatchers to wear more comfortable garb, gave detectives use of an idle department vehicle, and is considering schedule changes that would give every officer a weekend day off once in a while, which is not now the case.
Those changes may not be big things, but they do help to tell officers that the guy at the top wants to do what he can to make their jobs less of a hassle.
And now the guy at the top has put forth a policy that starts at the very top - of an officer’s head, that is.
The chief has reversed a policy going back to the tenure of former Chief Tim Burton, who required officers to wear their uniform hats on duty in almost all circumstances.
The top cop’s chapeau command apparently was unpopular with the rank-and-file, who found they were constantly adjusting their headgear just getting in and out of cars, not to mention chasing bad guys down the street and over backyard fences.
Now, officers will only have to wear hats at planned events, such as parades and protests, or when escorting VIPs, working paid details and directing traffic, when they would make the officer more visible.
So, if the chief can do three things well by 1) making officers happier in their jobs while 2) cutting crime rates and 3) keeping citizens happy - then you could say he’s performed a real hat trick.
Copyright 2009 Portland Press Herald