Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh has selected Kenton Buckner as the city’s new police chief. Buckner currently serves as chief of the police department in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Photo credit: City of Little Rock website)
“When we began looking for our next police chief, our goal was to find the very best candidate available. In hiring Chief Buckner, we have achieved that objective,” Walsh said in the news release. “Chief Buckner brings effective crime reduction strategies and a track record for increasing the diversity of his force. He understands the importance of having strong partnerships with law enforcement and the community to make our neighborhoods safer. Syracuse has an outstanding police department. I believe Chief Buckner will make it even better.”
Buckner has been the chief of police in Little Rock since June 2014. The department has 600 sworn officers and an annual operating budget of $76 million, about 50 percent larger than the Syracuse Police Department, per the City’s news release.
Prior to Little Rock, he spent 21 years with the Louisville Metro Police Department in Louisville, Kentucky. His career experience includes leadership in patrol operations, investigations, special operations, and administration.
“Syracuse is a great city facing hardened challenges with poverty and crime, very similar to the situation we confronted in Little Rock. It’s why I believe I’m the right person to be the next Syracuse police chief,” Buckner said in the City’s news release. “I’ve faced these challenges before, and working together with the community and law enforcement at the local, state, and federal levels, we had significant success. We really began to get traction when the coalition became strong, and the same thing can happen in Syracuse.”
Search process
Walsh selected Buckner after consulting with a search committee and group of community stakeholders consisting of nearly 20 people who all met with the finalist candidates.
Participants included two former police chiefs, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, and representatives of business, clergy, as well as neighborhood and advocacy groups.
Prior to seeking candidates, the City conducted an “extensive public-engagement process” that included 10 community and neighborhood meetings; over 700 individual survey responses; and meetings with 36 stakeholders in law enforcement, government, and nonprofit organizations, per its news release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
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