Q&A: Mpls. Assistant Police Chief Janee Harteau

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak has announced that he plans to nominate Assistant Police Chief Janee Harteau to replace outgoing Police Chief Tim Dolan.

If Harteau is confirmed by the City Council in 2013, she would be the first woman to lead the Minneapolis Police Department.

Harteau spoke about her nomination with Tom Crann of All Things Considered on Monday.

An edited transcript of that discussion is below.

Crann: What do you think in your background and experience makes you uniquely qualified to lead the department?

Harteau: Being a person who grew up in this department, I have a very good handle on the day-to-day operations of not only of the police department but very much the needs and issues of the city of Minneapolis.

Crann: Do you think that experience was seen here by the mayor as more valuable inside than picking someone outside at another city department?

Harteau: I think this department, and Chief Dolan, have done an incredible job of improving public safety. And clearly the mayor sees that we can continue in that direction, and I hope to take us to a whole new level of excellence.

Crann: You say during Chief Dolan's time that certainly violent crime is down in the city of Minneapolis. What do you think the key to that has been?

Harteau: Those partnerships, you need collaborative partnerships, and the technology, we've been able to really build on our predictive analytics. And then having communication...It's not just... how crime goes down, and that it does, but how we get that done [that] is very important.

Crann: You plan on continuing in that vein and some of those things that Chief Dolan and other leaders in the department like yourself have done over the last few years?

Harteau: Absolutely, we have an incredible foundation. And so building on the next levels of the technology and those tools and resources we have. Fostering new partnerships, I know there are some untapped partnerships out there, certainly in the social sector and some other business sectors we can partner with; and utilizing the technology that's in existence. [Those] will all be key moving forward.

Crann: If confirmed you would be the first woman to be police chief in Minneapolis. What do you think that means for the department and the city.

Harteau: I would hope it would send a message to others that Minneapolis, and certainly the Minneapolis Police Department, is very welcoming to all people, people of color and minorities and women.

Interview transcribed and edited by Jon Collins, MPR reporter.

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