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Source: Town of Dover, doverma.gov. Pictured is Dover Police Department's next Chief of Police, Joseph Vinci, who leaves his position as Westwood Police Lieutenant to take on his new role in the neighboring town.
1-24-2024 10:07pm
Westwood Police Lieutenant Takes on New Role as Dover Chief of Police
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Westwood Police Lieutenant Joseph Vinci has been appointed Chief of the Dover Police Department, and will begin his duties in Dover in late January, announced the Dover Board of Selectmen on Wednesday, January 24th. He will succeed Chief Peter McGowan who retired in September 2023.
"I am honored to be appointed as Chief, and excited about leading the men and women of the Dover Police Department, said Vinci. "It's clear Dover places high value on collaboration and building partnerships, which aligns with my vision of community policing."
Vinci first joined the Westwood Police Department as a patrol officer in 2006. He became sergeant in 2012, detective sergeant in 2018, and was promoted to lieutenant in 2019. At the Westwood Police Department, he was an Operations Division commander. He assisted with the successful Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission process, helped to bring the services of a mental health clinician to the department, managed training for staff, oversaw internal affairs/professional standards, and transitioned the department to a new system for records management, scheduling, and policy review.
A seven-member Police Chief Screening Committee, appointed by Dover's Select Board and chaired by Selectman John Jeffries, narrowed the pool of applicants several times. What began as thirty resumes was narrowed to a candidate pool of twelve, then six, then two. The Dover Board of Selectmen interviewed the last two candidates in December and voted to approve Lieutenant Vinci's appointment of Chief of the Dover Police on December 14, 2023. Contract negotiations concluded at the end of last year.
"The Town received numerous highly qualified candidates, and the Search Committee spent many hours to select our finalists," said Selectman John Jeffries. "The Assessment Center gave us a deep understanding of the day-to-day responsibilities of a police chief, and were thoroughly impressed with our final two candidates. We welcome Chief Vinci and look forward to seeing what he can achieve," said Mr. Jeffries.
Along with Mr. Jeffries, other members of the Police Chief Screening Committee were Paul Copponi, Kirsten Bartlett, Joseph DeSalvo, Sarah Monaco, Nicole Seferian, and Dan Burger.
