Christopher Francesconi Named New East Providence Police Chief

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI — East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva appointed Christopher Francesconi as the city's next police chief.

"I have had the opportunity to work with Chief Francesconi over the last three years and am impressed by his leadership and long list of goals he has for this Police Department, which is why I could not be happier to announce that I have appointed him as Chief of the East Providence Police Dept.,"DaSilva said in a statement.

Francesconi, whose most recent role in the department was deputy chief, was sworn into his new role Monday. He has served on the East Providence police force since 2000. He said it was a "tremendous honor" to be selected as the 15th police chief in the city's history.

"The men and women of this agency are some of the finest law enforcement officers in the region," Francesconi said in a statement. "I look forward to leading them as we seek out new and innovative ways to consistently deliver the very best police service to the East Providence community. I will work tirelessly to keep our community as safe as possible and maintain the strong bond my predecessors worked so hard to build with our citizens."

Francesconi said he has five immediate goals he wants to tackle as police chief. He wants the department to obtain accreditation from the Rhode Island Police Accreditation Commission, streamline and improve officer recruitment and retainment, deploy body cameras for patrol officers, improve community outreach and improve officer morale and training.