Kudos to Chief Constance Speake

From the moment Dewey Beach Police Chief Constance Speake was hired, she faced an uphill battle. It wasn’t a secret that some in town wanted another candidate.

But over the course of her first year, Speake has hopefully changed some minds. She’s done a tremendous job bringing the department into the 21st century, and creating a workplace that rewards discipline and dedication. The new-look Dewey Beach Police Department is a more community-friendly force that maintains a safe environment and communicates effectively with both residents and visitors.

Speaking at a January commissioner meeting, Speake said Dewey’s officers had not previously been given the necessary, basic tools to safely do their jobs. She made that a priority, ensuring her officers received what they needed, such as updated body armor and medical trauma kits. They also received about 1,100 hours of in-person and web-based training.

The property and evidence room was a mess, with items from years-old closed cases still taking up valuable space. She updated procedures for logging and maintaining evidence to improve handling and organizing, and made sure old items were properly disposed of. She also improved the detention area, and required inspection logs for vehicles and weapons, which did not previously exist. 

Annual employee evaluations were conducted after not occurring for many years. Those meetings with employees led to more training opportunities in areas of interest for her officers. 

The cherry on top is that much of her work was done without commanding a larger chunk of the town’s budget, as she secured $314,000 in grants to pay for cameras, vests, vehicle equipment, weapons and other costly items. 

All of these accomplishments and more – check out Ellen Driscoll’s Feb. 9 story – were achieved in a severely outdated police department. She’s made the best of what she’s been given. 

Fortunately, work will begin this fall on a new $7.2 million facility to house the town administration, police department and Sussex EMS. There is no better person to lead Dewey Beach’s police force into this next chapter than Chief Constance Speake.