Chief Baker to Resign

PPH:

[Bill] Baker, who became chief in 2007, said he regrets leaving the position but he
looks forward to the challenges of a new venture dedicated to keeping police
officers safe on the job. "Westbrook has been a fun place to work, so it's a
tough situation to walk away from," Baker said Friday. "But police leadership is
getting to be a younger man's job and it's getting tougher to keep such a
frenetic pace." Baker's last day as chief will be Feb. 4. He will start his new
job Feb. 7.

Though it's too soon for the crime statistics for 2010, Chief Baker initially saw a spike in the city's crime rate after he was first hired in August 2007--46.5% in 2008 compared to 36.3%% in 2007--but he presided over a dip in the 2009 figures (40.59%). Moreover, Chief Baker led the WPD to a steadying rise in the number of clearances, or cases resulting in charges. In 2007, the department's clearance rate was 33.2%, but it was 37.6% in 2008 and 46.4% in 2009.

These and other crime statistics can be found here.

- John C.L. Morgan