1. What is your vision for the department?

2. How will your policies differ from those of your predecessors?

3. Given the current state budget crisis, what will be your highest priorities in the next few years? What would be the ramifications of budget cuts on your agency? If you must cut services or programs, which ones would you cut?

4. The department has been affected by a number of controversies in recent years. What is your perception of where things stand now? What steps will you take to assure the public of the agency’s integrity?

5. Name two major problems you have identified with the department and tell us how you intend to fix them. What help, if any, would you require from the legislature to fix these problems?

6. What do you think of a current legislative proposal to allow renewal of gun permits at Department of Motor Vehicle offices?

7. A current legislative proposal requires police officers to have at least an associate degree. What is the current minimum educational requirement? Do you believe a degree should be a requirement for police work? What do you believe the minimum should be?

8. A bill before the legislature would require random drug and alcohol testing of all police officers. Are there any problems with this proposal? Would you support it?

9. What role, if any, is the State Police being asked to play in the fight against terrorism? Does the division have, or is it being given, adequate equipment, funding, and personnel to carry out its role? In what ways, if any, would you like to see the division’s role modified?

10. How does the new emphasis on homeland security affect the way state and local police units interact? What kinds of changes do you think are needed and how do you propose to bring them about?

11. The new emphasis on homeland security requires state and local police units to share intelligence and coordinate operations in new and different ways. How do you propose to effect these changes?

12. The State Police and Hartford Police Department have collaborated in the past in an effort to combat gun crimes in Hartford. How well did it work? Would you recommend more of these initiatives? Under what circumstances?

13. How has the state’s aging population affected the division’s ability to recruit and retain police officers? What percentage of the police force do you expect to retire in the next five years? What kinds of skills does the division require today that it did not require 10 years ago? Does the department have to train or retrain officers to impart those skills? How adequate is the division’s ability to do this training?

14. The number of state police officers is below the statutorily mandated minimum of 1,248 officers. How many officers are needed to bring the division up to full strength? Is it possible that the number of officers will decrease further in the immediate future? To what extent is the shortage affecting State Police operations? What programs or services are most severely affected by the shortage?

15. What do you think of the idea of establishing a civilian review board to handle civilian complaints against police officers?

16. Can you describe current State Police hiring and promotion practices? Approximately what percentage of state police officers belong to minority groups? Approximately what percentage of state police officers are women? Approximately what percentage of women are in ranks higher than lieutenant? What qualities do you look for in your management team?

17. Does the State Police currently videotape interrogations of suspects in the division’s custody? If yes, do you videotape all interrogations? If you videotape some interrogations, under what circumstances do you videotape? What do you think of the idea of videotaping interrogations of all suspects in the division’s custody?

VR: ts