AUSTIN, Texas — Criminal justice associate professor Carsten Andresen said it requires a certain kind of personality to lead a police department in a big city.
"You want somebody that has a magnanimous personality, somebody that can sort of turn on and be social and interact with any constituent, anybody in their department, and can establish good relationships with them," Andresen said.
Of the more than 30 people vying for the job in Austin, Sgt. Gabriel Dobkin is the only current employee from the Austin Police Department in the running.
"I was very surprised, actually. I did not expect to be the only employee from the Austin Police Department," Dobkin said.
Interim Chief Robin Henderson did not apply for the job and plans to retire. A police officer in Buda applied for the job, but KVUE was not successful in contacting him.
Some of the applicants include the Milwaukee and Seattle police chiefs.
Despite not working as an administrator, Dobkin believes his APD experience puts him at an advantage.
"As a patrol sergeant, I think it actually gives me just a unique perspective when compared and contrasted to an administrator or someone who's been an administrator higher up in a large agency for a long period of time," Dobkin said.
Andresen said there are advantages and disadvantages to hiring within the department or looking outside of it. He acknowledged that either strategy could work.
"You're going to need somebody that is going to commit to sort of their life is policing, and they hit the ground running and they never take it for granted and they're always thinking about how to innovate. I mean, it will be a huge challenge for whoever does it," Andresen said.
There are challenges that include tackling hundreds of job vacancies at the Austin Police Department and addressing the lack of a contract between the city of Austin and the Austin Police Association.
Mosaic Public Partners is the group leading the search and is narrowing the list to the top candidates who qualify.