Police Must Reflect City

True leadership means building on your strengths while working to eliminate your weaknesses--and inspiring the organization you lead to do the same.

We congratulate Mike Tracy on his promotion to chief of the Ventura Police Department, an outfit that has many strengths. We encourage him to lead the way in addressing one of the department’s weaknesses: a lousy record of retaining and promoting women and minority officers. Of the department’s 123 current employees, only nine are women and none of them holds a rank higher than officer. That’s not a matter of perception; that’s a fact.

Concerns about that record and the reasons behind it caused a delay in choosing a successor to recently retired Chief Richard Thomas. As an assistant chief, Tracy, 49, was an obvious contender. But he was portrayed by some as part of a “good ol’ boys network” that created an atmosphere of sexual harassment and discrimination within the department. More than half a dozen female former employees, some of them Latina, say they were forced to resign because of a hostile work environment that exists for minorities.

After City Manager Donna Landeros and Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks directed an unusually thorough background investigation, city officials judged those claims to be unfounded. The Ventura City Council voted to give Tracy the job.

Chief Tracy should not view the council’s endorsement as proof that all is well. Whether the troubling perceptions are well-founded or not, the numbers show that the Ventura Police Department and its leadership are out of sync with the city they serve. A diverse city such as Ventura needs the talents and perspectives of the widest possible spectrum of law enforcement professionals.

It is understandable that Chief Tracy might have a hard time seeing that there’s any need to change. A department led by and staffed with people who look, talk and think a lot like he does must seem comfortable indeed. He is a 24-year veteran of the force; Chief Thomas served nearly 30 years. That sort of career longevity and promotion from within is common in Ventura County’s institutions, and it is both good and bad. It’s certainly good to have continuity and local knowledge, yet there is also value in new blood, varied perspectives and drawing from the entire pool of talent.

The challenge is one shared by most police departments--and much of the private corporate world as well. Turning his department into the sort of place where promising young officers of every color and gender receive the mentoring, support and encouragement they need to make their maximum contribution would be a worthy goal for the new chief to pursue.

Leaders do not emerge from the crowd by accident. Chief Tracy was on the right track when he said in a recent interview, “Maybe, when promotions come up, we need to go above and beyond putting out a notice. Maybe we go to those people specifically and say we need you to apply, and what can we do to help you get ready for it?”

This is not tokenism or reverse discrimination. It is the sort of outreach that can help any organization that serves the public look and think more like the public it serves.