Four Northwest Arkansas cities are either in the search process or recently have appointed a police chief. Interim chiefs lead two other departments.
Centerton and Pea Ridge are hiring chiefs after their department heads retired. Siloam Springs and West Fork hired police chiefs in December.
How many officers are there?
There were an estimated 780,000 people employed as police and detectives in 2012 in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of jobs is expected to grow by 5 percent by 2022, which is slower than the average anticipated growth of other job sectors.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Rogers is working under an interim chief after the death of James Allen last month. An appointment to fill the position will be made in the next few weeks, Mayor Greg Hines said.
Tontitown's interim chief, Joey McCormick, said Friday the city hasn't opened a search to fill the top position. Chief Kris Arthur was fired Jan. 9 and replaced with Denny Upton as interim. Upton, however, resigned in January because of conflicts with the state retirement system. McCormick was then named new interim chief.
Centerton is the only city taking applications. There were 10 resumes and applications by midweek and more phone calls, said Mayor Bill Edwards. The posting closes Feb. 20. Edwards said he's optimistic the city will find the right fit.
"They look good on paper," he said.
Edwards is vetting candidates with a preliminary interview, but a hiring board made up of two council members, a resident and Little Flock Police Chief Jesse Martinez will help make the decision, Edwards said. He hopes to have a new chief installed by the March 10 council meeting.
Centerton Chief Lance Johnson's last day was Friday. He built the department from five to 15 officers during his 13-year tenure, Edwards said.
"Whoever comes has some big shoes to fill," he said.
Edwards said he hopes to find a chief who wants to be a part of the community and who has a vision for the growing city.
Pea Ridge received 25 applicants by the Jan. 30 deadline. Several internal candidates applied, and almost half of the applicants live or work in Northwest Arkansas. Mayor Jackie Crabtree said he was surprised when he got an application from New Jersey.
Former Chief Tim Ledbetter served Pea Ridge for 19 years before his Feb. 1 retirement. Crabtree said he's looking for someone with similar staying power.
Centerton and Pea Ridge aren't large departments. Centerton will have 15 officers once a police chief is hired, and Pea Ridge has 10. Crabtree took office in the mid-1990s with three officers.
"It's a working chief's job. It's not just administrative," he said. "Being a small community, it's going to take somebody who can get along with everybody."
The chief of police in a small town isn't only the chief administrator, but answers calls and goes on patrol, said Montie Sims, president of the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police. The small town chief needs to be a good administrator and has to maintain a good public presence, he said.
Police chiefs in Arkansas are appointed, not elected, and he must be a certified law enforcement officer.
The first step any mayor or city council should take before an appointment is to check the background of their candidate -- both qualifications and their performance at the last job, Sims said.
"There's always somebody looking for a job, but not all would make a good chief of police," he said.
Candidates for the Siloam Springs position were interviewed by an in-house committee and scored on leadership skills, police approach and experience, interpersonal skills and communication skills. That process was modeled off evaluations done for promotions in public safety jobs, said Greg Neely, public safety officer for Siloam Springs.
Scoring helps take any personal bias out of an interview and focus on facts, he said. Interview questions were based on scenarios the candidates might face as chief.
"Experience really came out in the process," Neely said.
Jim Wilmeth began as chief in Siloam Springs on Dec. 8 at an annual salary of $80,000 a year. Wilmeth, of Lovington, N.M., retired as Lea County undersheriff just before coming to Siloam Springs and had been an interim police chief for Eunice, N.M.
The Siloam Springs search started in October after Joe Garrett announced his retirement as police chief.
West Fork started a search for a police chief before Siloam Springs, but the city's police commission found itself in competition with the neighboring city.
West Fork started taking applications in August after Chief John Collins resigned. Collins had been the department head for eight months after the retirement of Mike Nelson.
The city's police commission -- Mayor Charlie Rossetti, Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder, residents and a representative from the Fayetteville Police Department -- reviewed 24 applications. The top three candidates were invited to the town and there was a good back and forth in the interviews, Rossetti said.
"We were looking for somebody who would be a part of the community. We didn't want to be a stepping stone and have them go somewhere else," he said.
The commission paid to have spouses come along for the interview to make it a family experience. On advice of law enforcement, they raised the salary to the $50,000 to $55,000 range.
The search started with 24 candidates. The first three candidates to be offered the job turned it down. Five candidates applied for both the West Fork and Siloam Springs jobs, according to names supplied by the cities. One of those candidates was Wilmeth, who took the Siloam Springs job. Rossetti confirmed Wilmeth also had been offered a position at West Fork. There were 18 applicants for the Siloam Springs job.
The West Fork commission went back to its final candidates and found Bryan Watts, who took the job of chief in December. Watts, from a suburb of Denver, brings 15 years of experience and wanted to raise a family outside the city, Rossetti said.
"We couldn't have done any better," he said.
Mayors at Pea Ridge and Centerton are both reviewing candidates. Crabtree said he plans to make a decision for Pea Ridge by the end of the month.
Pea Ridge has planned to pay in the mid-$30,000 to $40,000 range, Crabtree said. Centerton's Edwards said he plans to offer between $50,000 and $55,000.
The job of a police chief is complex, said Sims, the association president. Chiefs work for the mayors and can be terminated at any time. They're held accountable by outside forces and to the public, but they are dedicated to the job. No one goes into policing for the money, he said.
It's about doing the right thing, at the right place, at the right time, he said, invoking a favorite saying of the late Allen.
NW News on 02/15/2015