Hiring a Police Chief

The need to conduct a national search for a Police Chief in urban communities seems to indicate that there are no qualified candidates within their hundred or thousands of officers. If that is accurate, there is something sadly wrong with the recruiting, training and promotion of officers in that agency.
The Cincinnati, Ohio Police Department promoted from within until 2010. A written examination was administered by the Civil Service Commission and the high scorer was promoted to Chief. The test was only opened to Assistant Chiefs. After the voters passed a referendum authorizing the hiring of an outside candidate, the Mayor and City Manager chose the candidate they thought was the right fit. The average term for Police Chiefs hired from within was eight years. The average stay for the outside hiring was less than three years. The first outside Chief came from Maine with a background of twenty-six years at LAPD. He refused to comply with Ohio’s (albeit archaic) requirements to be certified as a Peace Officer and changed the uniform of the Police Department which had been in effect for fifty years. After less than three years in the job, he left for another larger agency. The next candidate lasted less than eighteen months before being fired for incompetence. Cincinnati then hired an internal candidate who remains in the position after six years.
The belief that a person arriving from another part of the United States could address the needs of their new department is wrought with danger because policing in California or New York is not the same as the midwestern area of the country. Each city has their own individualized needs and an internal candidate understands the best methods to provide for the safety of the community.
Urban Police Chiefs have become a weapon for politicians because their jobs hinge on compliance with Mayors. One example is Chicago, Illinois which has gone through three Chiefs in the term of the Mayor. Houston, Texas is a revolving door for Police Chiefs.