Salinas’ next police chief should be someone local who can build trust, a survey of residents says.

Erik Chalhoub here, thinking about what makes a good police chief. It’s a tough job, and the person needs to have a thick skin along with the skills and personality to confront the numerous challenges in the world of public safety.

Choosing who that person will be is difficult as well, and I don’t envy the decision Salinas City Manager René Mendez will soon have to make. But he’ll have some ideas of what Salinas residents are looking for in the city’s next top cop.

In June, the City of Salinas released a survey asking the public what qualities and experience they want to see in the next police chief. The role has been held on an acting basis by Salinas Police veteran John Murray since former chief Roberto Filice resigned in January after a little more than two years on the job.

In the two weeks the survey was live, it netted 942 responses, with about 87 percent of those identifying as Salinas residents. It’s a minuscule number compared to the city’s nearly 160,000 total residents, but the results released Wednesday, July 24 provide some direction on the search.

According to the results, survey-takers said trust-building, community engagement and community policing were the top-three areas of experience for the next chief. Ethics and integrity, accountability and operational effectiveness were also tops in leadership qualities.

A total of 669 respondents made additional comments in the survey, with the number one most-common theme being the chief must be local to or familiar with Salinas.

That is consistent with comments I’ve heard circulating—why hire someone from the outside when a local candidate can jump right in with little-to-no learning curve? 

In that sense, Murray’s name has been coming up often in these discussions. He told me in June that he is interested in the permanent position as a Salinas resident for 32 years and who’s been with the Salinas Police Department for nearly all of those years.

Candidates can apply for the position through Aug. 4. The city’s contracted recruiter, Bob Murray & Associates, will narrow down the initial candidates and share them with Mendez to interview and make the final decision.

What are some qualities you want to see in Salinas’ next police chief?

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