I had the chance to listen to parts of the City Council Hearing that confirmed our new Chief of Police, John Carmichael. I Zoomed in as Councilor Baker asked what the new Chief would do to enforce the Leaf Blower ordinance? While I found the question an odd choice for a hearing like this, from what I did hear Chief Carmichael seemed like a great selection. I wish him well in his new role.
In photos I’ve seen of the new Chief from the job he’s leaving he was wearing collar devices that showed his rank…military insignia with four stars. As a former Navy Officer, I identify that symbol with a full Admiral, or a full General. To me, it seems a bit pretentious for any police chief to wear rank like that, but then again, our police use military rank…Captains, Lieutenants, Sergeants. My question is, why?
Our Fire personnel don’t use military rank. More to the point, in Great Britain and many other countries their police also avoid the use of military rank. They have Constables, etc. Why? It’s because they want to avoid the appearance of having a paramilitary force, or that the police are a paramilitary force.
I think the point matters a lot. Our new Chief will be charged with implementing many recommendations from a task force charged with looking for ways to remake our police to avoid the kinds of stereotyping we’ve seen in Newton, or to avoid the really unfortunate death where our police killed a resident with serious emotional challenges in Newton Highlands a few months back.
I’ve always wondered what motivates a person to join the Police vs. the Fire Department? For me, people that join the Fire Department are completely focused on helping others. They’re selfless. But I’m not sure that I can say the same for the police. While I think that many police are solely focused on wanting to help, I also think that there are quite a few who enjoy the guns, the authority, and the militaristic side of things. They join for this reason and it isn’t what we need.
So, I’d like to see this changed. Symbols matter. Why can’t Newton abolish military rank for its police force? We could also change the look of the uniforms our police wear. It would make a powerful statement, and it might actually make a difference. What do you think?
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I think my eyes were rolling the entire time I was reading your article.
Fire departments have rank too. Ever heard of a fire chief?
It is called a chain of command, and all police departments have one.
What did the Chief say about enforcing the leaf blower ordinance?
My wife is was born in Northern Ireland which has some very complicated issues with policing. One of the things that has always rattled her is how all police are, no matter whether they joined the force last week are to be adressed as “officers”.
Unlike the military, everyone’s an officer.
@Jerry…. read somewhere once that in the case of police (which comes from “government”), “officer” refers to someone holding a government appointed position, and has no relation to military rank.
@Michael…I have the utmost respect for men and women who have and current serves (thank you for your service!), although I find the timing of your post curious give this is holiday weekend. Also very ironic given the parallels in the motivations of someone joining the police vs the military. One could easily argue they are very similar. It’s also no coincidence that many former military end up serving in law enforcement. And what’s wrong with that? Try telling the family of an officer fallen on duty that their motivations and actions were not selfless. On this weekend of remembrance, we should be honoring all who have served our country, and not distinguish between blue or red.
The Newton Police does a fantastic job and deserve our thanks. Best of luck to Chief Carmichael!
PS. Leaf blowers…don’t get me started. A shameful display of Newton’s selective NIMBY.
@Matt – I put the military and police in entirely different categories and don’t like seeing them linked.
Enlisting in the military is serving your country, and making personal sacrifices to do so. Being on the police force is a middle class job. Is there some element of danger involved? yes, but less so than farming or roofing or many other conventional jobs. We don’t say “thank you for your service” to roofers.
As for the holiday weekend, Memorial Day honors the men and women who died while serving in the US military. It’s not about police, farmers, roofers or other folks who died tragically on the job.
The less our police forces mimic the trappings, training, and equipment of the military the happier I will be.
Jerry, people say “thank you for your service” because police and fire departments service to the public.Yes, there are many other people in public service. I think they should all be thanked and respected far more than they are, even when we disagree with them or their work.
Most public service jobs are not life threatening, even when lives depend on them. A professional engineer for example, makes decisions about roads and structures upon which public safety depends. We depend on the to get things right. Most such public service jobs are safe, in particular personally safe, if you stick to the rules and follow your training. Same is true of private sector jobs like your cited farmers and roofers.
However, police (and fire service) have jobs with inherent risk, including mortal risk. Officers and firefighters have to stick to the rules and their training. By the definition of the their jobs, though, they are potentially up against people and natural forces that don’t play fair. When it comes down to it, their job description includes taking risks and making sacrifices for the public good. They also face the stress of making rapid and potentially life altering or life taking decisions (either defensively or offensively). The mental toll is surely more than most of us are willing to face.
We can and should debate issues like the use of force and the type of symbolism the police use. I am quite concerned about the militarization of police on one hand, and on the militarization of criminals and members of the public at large on the other. I don’t know if that discussion needs to take holidays.
But I don’t think it’s either fair or accurate to characterize police work as “just another middle class job” based on some simple summary statistic. The job asks for so much more, and I respect the people who step up and serve our community to the best of their abilities.
@Mike Halle – I totally agree that we should all appreciate our public servants and I think in general we often do take them for granted. Like you I have the utmost respect for those who serve our community.
I don’t believe though that respect should be filtered through a military prism. The police, fire department and other public servants deserve our respect for the work they do on our behalf – not because they are soldiers fighting our enemies.
Police, fire, and military are organized with a strong hierarchical structure. This is important. They share some common characteristics. Decisions, often split second decisions, are made by people at the top that may result to in the loss of life. In order for these organization to be effective, the hierarchical structure must remain strong. Titles like “managing director” or “Technoking” don’t lend themselves to the same hierarchical structure.
@Jerry those of us that have, or have immediate family that have been the victim of a violent crime may feel differently that police are not fighting our enemies. The woman in Newton that recently woke up to find a strange man in her bedroom may share this view.
The issues we face in Newton are tremendously different than those the military has faced in any conflict you can think of, or even in peacetime where I served on a ballistic missile submarine carrying nuclear warheads and spending nearly 4 months underwater at a time. There’s absolutely no comparison.
The solutions we need are also different. It doesn’t mean that the police don’t deserve anything but our highest levels of support and respect. We also can’t on our own correct our national gun sickness and how the 2nd amendment is interpreted to allow weapons our nation’s founders could never have imagined . Our police need to be prepared to deal with whatever issues they may be be called upon to face. I don’t question that.
But even here, in Newton, something needs to change. Many people favored “defunding”. I don’t. But we need to see our police as collaborative and partners in dealing with most issues. Not all police need uniforms, or visible guns. In my current work at a Jewish private school I have a close relationship with a police Captain and his staff in another community. They never wear uniforms, you don’t see their guns, they go by first names. It makes a difference. We may have some of this same practice in Newton, I don’t really know. But our new Police Chief can have a big impact this way, whether it’s through the clothes he wears, or in any other way of his choosing.
Google image search “Chief of Police”.
Overwhelming practice is wearing a police uniform, often with four stars. We will see how the Chief chooses to interact with the Newton public, including dress. I have many police chiefs dress in coat and tie most of the time.
As to whether we should “abolish military rank for its police force”, I am far more concerned with prioritizing transparency, accountability, training, and close cooperation with other city departments and the public. Police uniforms serve a significant purpose in that they are recognizable to the public, including rank as a measure of seniority. In emergency situations, rank and chain of command is critical to understand. I think renaming rank to be non-military would be a confusing and costly exercise with no way to measure results.
Traditional police uniforms are designed to be distinct from military uniforms. That changed somewhat post-9/11. Those changes should be understood and the distinction between civilian police and military should be as explicit as possible.
@Mike Halle
I appreciate your post.
But if the overwhelming practice is to wear 4 stars, that doesn’t make it right. All it means to me is that we need to rethink these issues all over, not just in Newton. I think that tracks with the news of the past year from all over the country.
For me, Newton has a chance to lead in many areas, the police, with our schools, etc. I personally feel that Newton has lagged badly this past year in almost every area. It’s not our police rank and file or teachers, they’re magnificent. It’s their leadership.
Now we have a leadership change with the police. I’m hopeful that we’ll see new thinking. This is just one idea. The new Chief could go in many directions. What would disappointment me is status quo.
Here’s an article on this history of police uniforms and some previous attempts to change them.
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-blazer-experiment/
I personally can’t say 60’s fashion casual fashion choices have worn well. It also seems like the Menlo Park experiment had mixed results.
So this is what it comes down to? Business casual? I don’t know much, but this I do…
1. Don’t underestimate the power of deterrence. The Cold War was won (or rather, global annihilation was prevented) by fighter jets and ballistic missile submarines, not whistles, slingshots and cargo shorts.
2. Has there been a lot of complaints about the NEWTON PD? Not that I can recall. Where there a couple of recent, high profile incidents that could have been handled slightly different? Sure. But easy to say with hindsight after the fact. And I don’t recall any charges placed on any officers. Do we need to overhaul something that otherwise have shown to be quite effective?
3. No one likes to be told what to do. Not a spouse, nor a teenager. And certainly not a newly minted Chief of Police by some local bloggers.
{In New England, informal (and non-uniformed) groups of able-bodied men patrolled neighborhoods, looking for crime, fires, and other disturbances. These groups were typically known as “The Watch.”}
That’s what we should do in Newton!!
Nice article @Mike Halle. Hope everyone has a nice Memorial Day.
@Matt Lai – I really doubt that anyone takes anything written in V14 as direction. Wow! If this blog only had that kind of power!
It is a place to float all sorts of ideas; mine, yours and many many others! Sometimes our officials pay heed and sometimes they don’t. That’s fine! I think that many read V14 though, and it has some influence.
It’s fine to disagree, but let’s also have fun and stay calm. On other threads you and I have shared the same views. Enjoy your Memorial Day and hopefully everyone can reflect on the day’s true purpose in their own way.
Openness to new ideas is exactly what I hope for in a Chief of Police. Chief Mintz often met with the community and had open, frank discussions. I hope that trend continues. One can be respectful and thankful of our public servants and still ask questions like these.
I very much liked the term the search committee used to refer to the role of police as “guardians” rather than “warriors.” In that sense, there are many parallels but also important distinctions between military and police service.
From Jerry “Enlisting in the military is serving your country, and making personal sacrifices to do so. Being on the police force is a middle class job. Is there some element of danger involved? yes, but less so than farming or roofing or many other conventional jobs. We don’t say “thank you for your service” to roofers.”
This flip cast off of the dangers police face and their willingness to rush in to protect and serve says a lot. Every time they serve a warrant, every time they pull over a car, every time they respond to calls of shots fired … they know that they may be facing someone that wants to harm them. They do it, in part, to serve their community.
I wish Jerry would sit down with police and talk to them about their experiences and the stress they take on … as well as why they got involved.
I thank police – we all should. I also respect them and appreciate them.
Fine if you don’t want them to have military rank … all is well with wanting reform … but the attitude I quoted above is unappreciative … at best. My impression of Jerry is greatly altered.
Keith B – I totally agree about the demands of a policeman’s job. As i said in my comment I totally agree that we should all appreciate our public servants and I think in general we often do take them for granted. Like you I have the utmost respect for those who serve our community.
Respect for the police and the work they do doesn’t in any way imply that they should be treated as a military organization though … which was what I was writing about. We should respect them for the hard work they do, not because we view them as a para-miltary organization.
The eye-rolling entertainment value of V14 never disapoints!
Logic would indicate that a new policy of all officers wearing soft fuzzy pj’s, carrying cozy little blankets, and armed with restricted-distance low flow water pistols would be a step in the right direction. The Chief’s water pistol would be full-distance.
Oh…and no more metal badges due to potential sharp edges. Just “Hello my name is” stickers. Much safer.
Also soft pj’s serve better for taking a knee, which seems to become a routine part of police work. And don’t forget diapers: Berklee College of Music is “deeply sorry” for allowing Boston police to use their restrooms.