IRVINE : Bay Area Official to Be Next Police Chief

The police chief for the San Francisco Bay Area city of Novato will become the new chief of the Irvine Police Department in January, City Manager Paul O. Brady Jr. announced Friday.

Charles S. Brobeck, 51, will begin working for the city on Dec. 16 during a transition period and will take over officially from Chief Leo E. Peart on Jan 7. Peart announced last year that he would retire on his 50th birthday in January to pursue other interests.

Brady chose Brobeck from a pool of 76 applicants after interviews earlier this month with City Council members and top city administrators. Brobeck has been chief of Novato, a city of 53,000 people just north of San Francisco, since 1986. He began his police career in 1964 as an officer for the city of Corte Madera in Marin County.

“He really demonstrated he possessed the knowledge and the leadership skills that we wanted for the city,” said Allison Hall, an Irvine assistant city manager.

Brobeck said Friday he was excited about the opportunity to become Irvine’s second police chief. Police officers and managers he met in Irvine seem to really enjoy working for the city, he said, and the city seems to have no serious or insurmountable problems that need solving.

“I don’t see (making) any drastic changes,” he said. “But I do see going in and injecting my personality and management style into the organization . . . and assessing where we want to go.”