New Marion police chief to focus on data-driven strategies

MARION - New Marion Police Chief Joseph McHale will be looking to data and crime trends in setting the direction for the department.

'I'm a person that tends to use intelligence and data,” he said. 'I like to partner with researchers. I think that's the way you drive an effective force in the 21st century.”

McHale was sworn in Dec. 15. He succeeds Harry Daugherty, who retired in June after 20 years of leading the Marion force.

McHale, 46, previously worked 25 years for the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department, most recently as commander of a patrol division.

The new chief said one of his first priorities is to bring a crime analyst into the department to 'use intelligence to drive our strategies.”

McHale said he also wants to understand crime trends in Cedar Rapids and other parts of Linn County as well.

'That's huge,” McHale said. '(It is the) same people, same places. In order for me to provide the best protection for Marion, I have to know what's going on.”

Another task on the to-do list is determining the Marion Police Department's emergency preparedness.

As for the department, which has 45 officers and 12 civilian staffers, McHale said they are well-trained and well-equipped.

The coming challenge will be managing the changes that come with an expanding population.

He said he will be keeping a close eye on how to best provide the department with the training and equipment officers will need.

'Marion is going to explode over the next few years,” McHale said. 'We're going to have to look at what's the next step for us. How do we grow with the city? ... With growth comes different types of investigations, different types of patrol strategies. We can embrace it.”

And understanding trends is key to working in a growing city, he said.

'We're going to have to use evidence-based strategies,” he said, 'and we're going to have to look at our deployments to adjust with the growth.”

McHale said his experiences in Kansas City enable him to understand preventive policing.

'I led the largest intervention project in Kansas City's history, looking at individuals who are at high-risk for violent crimes, looking at social structures they're in and getting them help,” he said.

McHale, who will earn a $133,000 annual salary, holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice administration from Grantham University in Lenexa, Kan., and is a subject matter expert with the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance.

His wife, Stephanie, is a native of Hampton, Iowa. They have a 3-year-old son who McHale said earlier they were looking forward to raising in 'one of the safest cities in Iowa.”

McHale said he is excited, too, to learn more about Marion.

'It's an honor to be here,” he said. 'If you don't realize what an amazing community Marion is, walk outside for a few minutes and see who you're talking to.”