PWC Police Chief “Good Time” Charlie Dean Finally Retiring
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Long-time Prince William County Police Chief “Good Time” Charlie Dean has announced he will be retiring as of Sept. 1. The county better engage in a nationwide search for a new police chief capable of leading a force charged with protecting Virginia’s second largest county and one of the nation’s ten wealthiest. (We certainly don’t need a repeat of the sham search the BOCS conducted for a new county executive that resulted in the promotion of an incompetent underling.)
We need a chief who subscribes to the Giuliani way. Someone who adheres to the “broken windows” theory of law enforcement. Graffiti needs to be wiped away as soon as it appears. Property owners must properly maintain their buildings and land or else face citations. Those loitering or engaging in disorderly public conduct should be made to either move along or be arrested.
I have been calling for Dean to retire / be fired for about four years now as he has not been able to provide the county with the type of leadership our police force needs in the changed environment we have found ourselves in over the past decade. From his ill-advised (and ultimately constitutionally unnecessary) revocation of portions of the county’s Rule of Law resolution dealing with illegal aliens to his lack of initiative on installing cameras in police cruisers to his lax pursuit of petty crimes, Dean has not been a good fit for this county for a long, long time. (The camera issue is especially rich in light of a recent incident where a police officer wouldn’t approach a suspect in a stolen property case because surveillance video wasn’t clear even though the victim identified the alleged thief and used the “Find My iPhone” app to trace the property to the address he was at.)
The rank and file police who go out and risk their lives every single day to protect us deserve much better than this.
Here’s hoping that is what they get with the county’s next police chief.
9 Responses to “PWC Police Chief “Good Time” Charlie Dean Finally Retiring”
I think Chief Deane has done an outstanding job in building the Police Dept. from a rural entity to a highly professional nationally acclaimed force. People forget sometime that the local police department is the first line of offense or defense in supporting our basic constitutional rights, without which we could be a lawless 3rd world country. Deane was especailly strong in his care not to breach constitutional rights when he did not enforce the so-called “Rule of Law” Resolution, when some of us called it and stilll do call it the “Rule of Illegal Law”….and the Supreme Court has since gone that route knocking out 287g and the rest of the sections that abrogate our constitutional rights. Deane went around the County assuring immigrants that he was not ‘out to get them’ – an image that Corey painted and still proudly does. The notion that a ‘nationwide search’ will somehow improve law enforcement is baseless. We may well have someone on the force, who, like Ms. Peacor, is perfectly capable and can hit the ground running. Thank you Chief Deane for a job well done……
Ken, the Supreme Court ruled in its Arizona decision that the aspects which mirrored PWC’s original policy were the only constitutional aspects of AZ’s law.
Peacor is incompetent and is proving herself unworthy of her job every day. Last thing we need is for someone like that to be put in charge of public safety.
Mr. Riley, you do know that all sides declared victory after the SC decision. One of the core principles of the decision was re-affirmation that enforcement of immigration laws is a federal responsibility. As a result of the decision, the President stopped 287g enforcement and , re-instituted the Dream Act principles. Underlying the stop and show papers procedures, i believe we all know that we do not have the resources to deport everyone and only the worst criminals are receiving attention for deportation………….
I don’t believe Ms. Peacor has applied for Chief Deane’s job.
I am glad Chief Deane relied on his instincts and professional training when advising the county, rather than on knee jerk reactions to politics.
He has served the county well for many decades.
Moon, what the heck are you doing on this site? Hit the wrong button?
Most modern police departments limit the amount of time of their police chief. Chief Deane has built a network of cronyism from years of controlling every aspect of the department to include the selection of the police association president.
When other police departments took advantage of grants over twenty years ago for in-car police cameras provided by organizations like MADD,Chief Deane refused..
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of the police association of the po
The reason Dean removed the cameras from the police cars was because the judges in Manassas kept dismissing all the false DUI stops. Once the cameras were removed DUI convictions went up over 50%. Ask any defense lawyer who works at Manassas.
I didnt mean that Peacor might somehow apply for Deane’s job. I was stating that, like Peacor, we may find a highly qualified person to take Deane’s place who is on the force now. We dont have to go to San Diego or other place to find someone qualified. Based on the thoroughness that Deane has exhibited, i would be surprised if he hasnt developed several good candidates from within, just like Gerhart developed several qualified candidates to take his place. including Peacor and Rolsch……..
Crosspost from BVBL – The issue with the department, and why they need an outsider at Chief, is that it has what is called a “discretionary promotion” system. That means that eligible officers are promoted at the discretion of the Chief. A civil service type system would promote from a ranked list of eligible officers, with the officers ranked highest promoted first. The PWCPD creates an “eligibility list” of 20 officers for the ranks of Sgt through Lt and the Chief can choose who he wants from anywhere on the list. Officers below 20 are then moved up until the eligibility list is again at 20. That means officers ranked 20th can be promoted, and officers ranked first don’t necessarily have to be. It also means by the end of the two year eligibility list, a guy ranked 30th can eventually be moved up to the 1-20 list and then be promoted. Officers ranked Captain and above are solely at the Chief’s discretion.
The argument for the discretionary system is that some officers may “test” well, but not be “leadership” material. In reality, the testing system is comprised of both a written test and “practical” exams that are judged by ranking officers from outside the department. Therefore, unbiased proctors review the candidates and create the list. Given that system, it makes sense to choose from the list in ranked order. The reason it is not done is because the discretionary system gives the Chief all the power, and every single one of the officers promoted are then indebted to him for their promotions. Within the department, the promotions are then seen as based on favortism and not merit.
Think about what it means for a department that has had the same Chief for over twenty years. The whole department above the rank of officer is BEHOLDEN to him for their entire careers. Who will question or challenge him in such circumstances? The power that gives the Chief must have been intoxicating. And no one wanted to question him in any way knowing he held their career in his hands – not merit. Cronyism is dangerous to any organization. It is especially dangerous to a paramilitary organization based on rank. The Chief owned that department. Even after retirement, the entire command structure will owe him. An insider promoted to the Chief will mean Deane remains the ghost in the machine, offering his advice from his fishing boat. I don’t see how the BOCS could want that scenario.
An outsider is needed to review what has been built up by two men in 42 years. Some housecleaning is definately in order.
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