Connecticut has a new commissioner of public safety for the eighth time in the last 17 years. Some think those numbers reflect deep problems within the agency. That may be so, but the numbers alone should not be a cause for concern. J. Edgar Hoover was the head of the FBI for 48 years and that’s no longer considered all positive.
John Danaher, a former U.S. attorney, is the latest in a long line of promising candidates to offer himself as savior or human sacrifice. Only time will tell which.
Like those before him, he is being trumpeted as a man of impeccable integrity who has the ability, unlike others, to transform the public safety department into something it is not. The Connecticut State Police comprise the largest part of the agency and that is where the trouble always seems to be.
Beneath the spit and polish professional image of our state troopers — in their award winning dress uniforms — is all the macho competitive tension that pervades your favorite winning professional sports team. Add a few women to this male dominated world, and guns, and you quickly see how the agency can be hard to manage.
Loyalty and an unspoken code pervade the agency. With time, each trooper develops his or her own perception of how the code is interpreted. Factions develop. One thing is for certain; anyone who comes in from the outside is automatically at a disadvantage.
Strike One
Danaher, like Leonard Boyle, Arthur Spada, John Connelly and Nicholas Cioffi begins with one huge strike against him. Since he did not come through the academy and has not done his time on the road, he can never truly be a trooper.
Except for the guns and the paramilitary approach to discipline within the ranks, the public safety department is not that much different from other state agencies. Rank and file state employees, who make the agencies run every day, always question the credibility of the politically appointed leadership. Even fellow career employees are suspect once they accept a political appointment.
A small group of bureaucrats always finds a way to get close to the new commissioner to preserve its place in the agency hierarchy. The rest quietly do their jobs, or wait four years in the hope an election will bring in a new commissioner more to their liking.
Within the state police, there is more of a passive-aggressive approach to unacceptable civilian leadership. While some pledge their loyalty to the new leader, as they should, others work quietly to destabilize him until he trips up or quits.
This is why regular shake-ups in the leadership of the state police are not necessarily bad. There should be no expectation of a long tenure.
Anyone who takes the top job should take it with the understanding that he won’t stay long. He should come in determined to raise standards and make it difficult for the brotherhood culture to dominate the agency. The shorter the tenure the less chance there is of the commissioner becoming part of the problem. Civilian leadership is always best. Three to four years is probably the most any single leader can handle.
The term “political appointee” gets a bad rap. The truth is, competent political appointees, sent in with the right mission and a limited term, are the only force with a vested interest in making sure our government is working for us and not itself. n
Dean Pagani is a former gubernatorial advisor. He is V.P. of Public Affairs for Cashman and Katz Integrated Communications in Glastonbury.
