Louisville is in the market for a new police chief, and Mayor Greg Fischer is starting his search close to home this time.  Yesterday Fischer announced a four-step process that includes community meetings in all 26 Metro Council districts to aid in the selection of a new chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department.  Robert White, the current chief, has been selected as the new chief of police for the Denver Police Department.  He has served since his appointment in January 2003, by then-mayor Jerry Abramson. 

The city will hire the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville to lead the selection process.  “The hiring of a new chief is an important and critical decision and I want as much input as possible,” Fischer said. “The police institute has wide respect and can help ensure we get the best candidates.”

The new chief must have at least an undergraduate degree and must have at least three years of command level experience. It is preferred, but not required, that the new chief either be currently or formerly employed by LMPD or its predecessors, the Louisville Police Department and the Jefferson County Police Department.

The four steps are:

• Citizen input. Meetings will be held by each council member in their district and SPI will use data from those gatherings to develop common community concerns. In addition, a 15 to 20 person panel of criminal justice officials and stakeholders — including the Fraternal Order of Police — will be asked for their input.
• Profile position paper. Each applicant for the chief job will be required to submit an extensive paper in which he or she answers questions about leadership, strategic planning, crime control, community policing and involvement, among other things.
• Assessment team. A four member team – consisting of two police chiefs (active or retired), a CEO who is a member of the Police Foundation Board and SPI Professor Cynthia Shain — will screen all applicants and recommend five to the Mayor. Only the names of the five recommended applicants will be made public.
• Mayor’s interview. The mayor — along with his top advisors — will interview the five finalists and make a decision.

The process should take approximately four months, with Fischer naming a new chief by April.  Outgoing Chief Robert White's last day on the job will be in early December, and Mayor Fischer says he will appoint an interim Police Chief at that time. 

WDRB’s Chris Wright reports:

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