The Melrose Messenger

Melrose Police Chief Kevin Faller Reflects on Two Years as Chief

By Patrick DeVivo

It’s been two challenging and productive years since Kevin Faller was hired as the Melrose Chief of Police in December 2022. Previously, Faller was a Medford police captain and a 28-year veteran of that city’s police force. He was seeking a new challenge in his law enforcement career when he applied for the Melrose position, which became available upon the retirement of former Chief Michael Lyle.

Faller admits he might not have pursued the position of chief in any city other than Melrose. It was the opportunity to establish himself in a smaller setting - Medford's police force and population are both nearly twice as large as Melrose's - and the opportunity to lead what he knew to be a close-knit team of talented officers that encouraged him to apply.

When Faller took over as chief, he did not want to “flip the table upside down” and initiate unnecessary changes. “I knew from the start that what worked in Medford might not work in other departments, including in Melrose.” Instead, Faller methodically held meetings with each of the 40-plus members of the department. He admits that he felt slightly awkward at the time, “like the new kid in school, even though I was in charge.” Feedback from these individual sessions gave him insight into the department’s existing culture and, along with his own observations, served as the basis for implementing several changes in the department.

The overriding goal of these changes is to provide focused support to the community in areas where there is a critical need, and to provide more opportunities in the department for officers to advance their skills and knowledge.

One new role, which was created by shifting hours around within the department, focuses on maintaining professional standards, including internal compliance issues, department policies, and accreditation requirements. Another new role focuses on mental health cases, the frequency of which Chief Faller says has “gone through the roof.” Officers have also been working on expanding the department's presence and visibility on various social media platforms. And Chief Faller has stressed the need to empower the department’s supervisors with a level of management autonomy that has not always been expected in the past. Basic front-line management training is being offered to support this effort.

Job satisfaction is very important to Chief Faller. Although staff turnover in the Melrose Police Department is similar to that of other police forces, it can pose challenges for the Department. Most new hires are entry-level officers, and it can take over a year to recruit and fully train a new entry-level officer. As with many jobs right now, there is a shortage of applicants to fill positions for police officers across the Commonwealth.

Once an officer is hired, they spend six months at the police academy followed by several months of on-the-job shadowing, orientation, and training. Operating without a full staff during this process can take a toll on the existing staff. According to Faller, these challenges make it all the more important to focus on the satisfaction of the existing team by offering them new opportunities in the department, along with training on new skills.

Chief Faller looks forward to the construction of a new police headquarters and has been busy supporting that project, including as a member of the Public Safety Facilities Advisory Committee. The current plans for the new police station at the former Beebe School site provide much more space and up-to-date amenities for the police department, including a crime lab, a wellness center, and a training/community room.

Chief Faller views the new facility as an important way to improve job satisfaction for Melrose's police officers. Right now, most of the staff must double up in the current headquarters, which Faller describes as cramped and outdated. To Chief Faller, the new headquarters represents “a recognition by the city of the importance of what we do. Asking our officers to continue to work under the present conditions negatively affects job satisfaction and safety.”

The plans for the new police station have generated some controversy, with residents of the Beebe School neighborhood questioning whether the new headquarters needs to be as large as the plans indicate, and other aspects of the design. While Chief Faller says that he understands the neighbors' concerns, he feels the city has done a good job of explaining the facts about the project and dispelling any rumors or thirdhand claims.

Looking ahead, Chief Faller would like to be able to engage in more community policing, where officers proactively reach out and have a presence in the everyday life of the city. Several years ago, a program sent officers out into the community on mountain bikes instead of in police cruisers, to great success. However, low staffing prevented the continuation of that program, and it is still an obstacle to similar initiatives.

While he cannot fix staffing problems in the immediate future, Faller believes that respect, camaraderie, competitive pay and clear goals and expectations will go a long way toward making Melrose an attractive option for the pool of candidates who are interested in law enforcement careers.

Chief Faller and his wife Dawn have lived in Melrose since 2004, where they raised their two daughters: Baileigh, a dental hygienist, and Miranda, a sophomore at the University of New Hampshire. Chief Faller grew up in Medford and graduated from Malden Catholic High. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Tufts University and a master's degree in criminal justice from Anna Maria College. He enjoys hockey, which he played at Tufts, and golfing. But his most effective release from everyday stress is music – he plays piano and keyboard in several cover bands and in an original band in the Boston area.

Now fully settled into the job after two busy years, Chief Faller clearly enjoys what he does. He admits to being one of those fortunate people who has settled into a career performing a role that he saw himself doing from an early age. “Most of my family are in healthcare,” he says with a slightly quizzical look, “but I had one uncle who was a policeman, and for some reason what he did always interested me more than all the others.”

Posted February 3rd, 2025