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Firm To Aid In Police Chief Search

By Jenna Carlesso

January 19, 2012

The city has hired the Massachusetts-based recruiting firm Strategic Policy Partnership to assist in the search for its next police chief.

Mayor Pedro Segarra has said for weeks that he intended to hire a firm to aid in a national search. The firm will supply the city with a list of qualified candidates from across the country, city officials said, and make a recommendation on who it believes would be the best candidate.

The firm will be paid about $50,000 for 10 to 12 weeks of service, city officials said.

"I look forward to working with Strategic Policy Partnership to implement a search process that not only brings the best candidates forward but also respects Hartford's community policing philosophy," Mayor Pedro Segarra said in a statement.

Daryl K. Roberts, who served as the city's police chief for the past five years, retired Dec. 31. Segarra last month appointed Assistant Chief Brian J. Heavren to be acting chief while the city conducts a search.

The mayor also appointed James Rovella last month as his special assistant to act as a liaison with the police department. Rovella is chief inspector for the chief state's attorney's office and head of the Hartford Shooting Task Force.

He will be in charge of communications between the city and the police department and continue his work as head of the shooting task force, the mayor has said.

Segarra said that five firms had submitted requests to assist in the search.