Medfield Welcomes New Police Chief, Michelle Guerette

Medfield Welcomes New Police Chief, Michelle Guerette

The first day of work for the Town of Medfield’s new Chief of Police was Monday, April 29th, the same day as the Annual Town Meeting.

MPD Chief Michelle Guerette knew this would be a busy day, but she greatly enjoyed meeting so many people and was quite impressed with the number of residents that attended Town Meeting. “Seeing the townspeople turn out for this meeting shows that people care how the town is run and they care about fiscal responsibility.”

On Tuesday, March 19, 2019 the Medfield Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to appoint Michelle Guerette as the next Chief of Police following the retirement of Chief Robert Meaney.

Chief Guerette was a Captain in the Providence, Rhode Island Police Department before coming to Medfield and worked in that organization for 22 years. She commented on the differences between working in a big a city (400 in Providence PD) and now a small town (19 in Medfield PD), however she stated, “It is more similar than different, believe it or not!”

Chief Guerette was born in England and has one brother who was born in Italy, they were both adopted by her American parents. Her father was in the Air Force, so coming from a military family, she felt privileged that they had the opportunity to travel the world and lived in many places. When living in the States, she spent 4 years in North Dakota and learned to love snow. Once her father retired, they settled in Quaker Hill, Connecticut.

After graduating high school, she moved to Rhode Island, and spent some time working and figuring out her future. She attended the Police Academy in 1996 and joined the Providence Police Department after completing the academy. She currently lives in Hopkinton, Mass.

Guerette is proud to be the first female Medfield Chief of Police and she’s proud of the message this sends to her daughters. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, women account for less than 15 percent of local police officers and only about three percent of local police chiefs. “Having an opportunity to represent an organization as a department leader is one few people get and it is not lost on me!”

On how she has been received by the MPD, Guerette said, “The men and women of this organization have been overwhelmingly welcoming. I truly believe they want me to succeed. The department banded together during the police chief search and spoke their minds and they showed loyalty that had been earned; I realize it takes time to earn that loyalty. Change is difficult for everyone.” Guerette went on to say that she got to know Interim Chief John Wilhelmi during the police chief search process and she feels they have a lot in common. They are both passionate about police philosophy and the importance of family. “He’s good people and I hope he stays.”

Guerette is anxious to get to know the people and the Town of Medfield. Her plan is to spend these first few weeks on the job sitting down with groups and organizations and find out what they think. She attended New ‘n Towne’s “Touch a Truck” event at the Middle School on Saturday and it was well attended so she met quite a few parents and their children. She plans to attend the MEMO Annual Meeting this week and will continue to interact with the community in this way to find out what people think and what they want to share in regard to policing in Medfield.

She also plans to take part in the Medfield Memorial Day parade and march with the Medfield Police Department; she takes great pride in marching and honoring the memory of her military father.

A top priority as Chief will be to focus on traffic. “Traffic is a concern”, she stated. She does not believe that the department should “ticket our way” through town, but she feels there should be a 3 step process toward solving some speed concerns, “Educate, Warn, and Enforce”. Occasionally, she plans to utilize social media to make residents aware of traffic enforcement locations . For instance, she recently tweeted, “ In an effort to enhance traffic safety, the Medfield Police will be performing traffic enforcement on Nebo St on May 7th for the morning commute. Please take it slow and drive safely!” “If I can give a heads up hopefully people will notice and drive slowly. The goal is to have people drive safely and responsibly.”

Another plan she hopes to institute will be to have more officers on foot patrol instead of always vehicle patrol but she stressed that changes will be made by what the community wants, “It is important to police the way your community wants to be policed.” All in all she feels that this department has been operating well and the organization takes pride in policing and the residents have respect for the department .

As she gets more familiar with the Town and the police department, she hopes to institute programming such as a Teen Police Academy and/or a Citizen Police Academy to foster a greater appreciation for how the police do their job. These would be structured programs and they might include a tour of the facility, history of police, criminal law, teaching what constitutes a criminal offense, determining what is reasonable suspicion and probable cause as well as explaining detention, fingerprinting, ride-alongs and police scenarios. “Understanding the complexity of policing and applying the law in a stressful situation allows everyone to learn and it starts a dialogue.” Another possibility would be to offer an internship within the Medfield Police Department.

“I enjoyed my time in Providence, but when the opportunity of becoming the Medfield Police Chief presented itself to me it felt right as it allows me to be near home and my family….the things I care most about.”