March 17, 2021 by Carol Britton Meyer
Hingham Police Sergeants Steven Dearth, John Marquardt, and Nicholas Smith -- the three candidates for two open lieutenant positions -- were interviewed individually last night, ably fielding numerous thought-provoking questions posed by the Selectmen.
These ranged from what each officer would recommend to help people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community feel comfortable and safe in Hingham, to the importance of the proposed Fiscal 2022 social worker police budget item, to how they expect recent police reform to affect the Hingham Police Department.
Dearth, who has been with HPD for 28 years -- serving as patrolman, traffic officer, field training officer, and court prosecutor during his career -- considers his strong points to be his positive attitude and outlook, integrity, and his extensive experience as a police officer. "I take pride in wearing the HPD uniform, because I'm representing the department and the Town of Hingham," he said.
Marquardt, who is in his 11th year with HPD, has served as a patrol officer, school safety officer, detective, firearms instructor, and is involved in women's, children's, and senior citizen's self-defense training. He currently serves as HPD's civil rights officer.
Marquardt counts among his strengths his integrity, ability to "self-reflect," and strong leadership skills. "I do the right thing for my [fellow police officers] and also for the public," Marquardt said.
Smith has been with HPD for nearly 11 years. "I love this community and this department," he said. He has served in the traffic division and as a field training officer and is the current director of the Citizens' Police Academy.
Among his strengths, he included trustworthiness, adaptability, and the ability to "get things done."
All three candidates agreed that adding a full-time social worker to the HPD staff would be a benefit when dealing with a variety of issues and that's it's getting more and more difficult to attract candidates for HPD openings due to the changing climate, including police reform.
All three agreed on the importance of all HPD officers fully understanding the new laws related to police reform and how they will affect their work from day to day. "The situation changes daily, because the social climate is changing," Marquardt said. "In the long-term, police reform will affect our ability to attract new police officers. Being constantly scrutinized discourages people from applying."
Marquardt, Dearth, and Smith suggested various ways to help people who feel marginalized in Hingham feel safe here. These included encouraging them to become involved with the Citizens' Police Academy, participate in Family Fun Day and other events hosted by HPD when they are up and running again post-COVID, and person-to-person conversations about anything that is on anyone's mind.
"I don't know what it's like to be part of any of these groups, but I can listen and help create a welcoming environment," Marquardt said. "Everyone will be treated with dignity and respect by all of our officers. We need to be about action now. I would like to connect more of our officers with the Hingham Unity Council."
Smith said he wants people "to feel accepted and to feel that they are being heard. If that's not happening, then we aren't doing our jobs based on the HPD's core values."
Dearth said the HPD needs to diversify, but that's difficult because the applicant pool is limited. "We want to keep our officers here longer," he said. "We want to make our organization so good that they don't want to leave."
Smith holds a similar outlook. "If an officer wants to try something different, I think we should give them that chance, even on a temporary basis," he said.
He noted that police work is an evolving profession. "Change can be a great thing and in the long run, it will probably help us all out," Smith said.
When asked how he envisions law enforcement changing over the next five years, Dearth responded -- "Drastically. The public needs to have faith and trust in [police officers] again, and we can work toward that," he said. "Reform is happening quickly, without as much input as we would have preferred, but it's here and we have to adapt to it."
Police Chief David Jones, who introduced the candidates during the remote board meeting, will make his recommendations to the Selectmen for their consideration. The two candidates who are chosen to fill the positions will be announced at an upcoming board meeting.
"This is not going to be an easy decision," Selectmen Chair Mary Power said. "These interviews speak to the caliber and talent we have within our police force. I hope citizens feel as fortunate as we feel right now."
In the meantime, citizen input from those who watched the Zoom interviews, or who view the meeting recording by Harbor Media, is welcome, she said.