Sergeant Mark Bailey is now the interim chief of the North Adams, Massachusetts police department. His ascension follows the suspension of Chief Jason Wood, who was placed on leave in March by Mayor Jennifer Macksey following an unspecified personnel issue. A public records request by WAMC revealed that an extramarital affair had contributed to disruptions in Wood’s professional life. Wood will not be retained when his contract expires in June. Bailey’s appointment comes as the department transitions from its crumbling headquarters on Summer Street to a temporary space on Holden Street. Bailey spoke with WAMC during a tour of the facility.
BAILEY: So, I've been here since 2004. I graduated from Westfield State College at the time, now it's a university. And I was lucky to graduate in the spring of 2004. And then in the fall 2004, I fell in this position, so, got very lucky to get a job back then so quickly. So anyway, that's 19 years I've been here. For the first eight years, I was on patrol on the midnight shift. But not just on patrol, I also did other things like the ROPES camp, the Northern Berkshire ROPES camp, neighborhood watch programs out in the community, really trying to establish what I wanted to be as a police officer. So, about 2013, I was able to become a detective, and then that just opened so many doors for me. At that time, I was able to work with the drug task force, and working with those individuals, the state police detective unit down south in Pittsfield, showing me how to write search warrants- Those guys were just miles ahead of me, intelligence wise, with everybody that I worked for. And I was able to develop my own skills, write my own search warrants, and learn, really, what investigating from beginning to end is all about. Prosecuting, not prosecuting, but going to court and testifying, being an expert witness in Superior Court, it just plateaued you to a whole other level. And then when COVID hit, I decided it was time to go back to midnight patrol. I became sergeant while in the detective bureau in 2015, and I went back to the patrol sergeant with COVID hit just to make sure that I was there with my family in case there was lockdowns or shutdowns. And, again, I was working as a patrol sergeant, working with a great midnight shift. And then this happened. And while I was on midnight shift for that time being, I was able to get my master's degree. So, once I got the master's degree, this opened up, and they asked me if I would apply for the job, and I said, yeah, I'll try it out. Let's see how I can do. Because I like to think I'm still kind of young, I'm 41. So, being in charge of a city for 13 years does scare me a little bit, make me nervous. But I want to try it out and see if everything I've learned- You know, I call this my third act as a police officer. So, I wanted to see if I can make it work and make the department better than then when I stepped into the role.
WAMC: Right now, what do you see as the biggest challenges you face stepping into this position?
So, our policies and procedures – nothing against past chiefs – have been neglected for years. They've been written and rewritten, but there's policies and procedures that that haven't been taken care of. And I really need to focus on that. We look at that as our foundation of a police department, our policies and procedures, rules and regulations. Once we get that, maybe even get accredited through the state like Great Barrington is, then maybe we can keep that as a base for any officers coming in so they know what to do, how to do certain things, how we expect you to do certain things, to even the way that you wear your uniform or polish your boots. All that is dictated, so you don't have to do any thinking. It's written. And then once we have those established, then we can move forward to doing other things in the community, maybe even like, the mayor was able to bring back our canine unit. He's in the academy now, nut once he gets out, we're going to have a new canine unit. So maybe in the future, we can have our own forensic analysis of electronic devices up here. So, it just- Once we don't have to worry about our policies and procedures and rules and regs, we can start focusing on other avenues, other ways to make the department better for the community.
So, looking externally out into the community, what do you see as the biggest challenges in the community that you'll have to address as interim chief?
So, like anyone says, it’s not- It doesn't matter how many people you arrest, it doesn't matter how many people you put in jail, that doesn't show how successful you are as a police department. It’s crime rate, and we’ve got to bring the crime rate down. For the past, I don't know what exactly the statistics, but at least for the past five years, we've been in the top 10 in Massachusetts for highest crime rate, and I'd like to bring that down. I think, really, the only way to bring that down is proactive policing. And proactive policing, not in the sense like I said of just arresting people or kicking doors in, but getting out in the community knocking on doors, talking to people, telling people who to call, when to call, what to look for. So, if we have more of the community backing us and helping us, seeing us out there on the streets, playing with kids or even out on the streets patrolling like we used to, foot patrols, that really helps to lower the crime rate by creating the omnipresence that the police are everywhere, we're always here, we're always around. So, I really think that that's our first and foremost, is to try and engage more with the community, get people out of the cruisers, and have the community meet the officers face to face.
Now, obviously, this era of policing has been defined by a lot of very public conversations about racial equity and about oversight and reform. I'm interested- Over the last few years, what have you picked up from that conversation, and does any of that play into how you consider your leadership role?
It does. And what it boils down to is, it's not just Democrat, Republican. Everybody in town has their own opinion based on their own core values. So, it doesn't matter what race or ethnicity you are. I want to know how you feel and what you think that we should do about crime. So, what one person feels, you know, throw them away, lock them up, throw them away, forget about them. Another person would say, let's give them another chance or let's see what the root cause is for helping this person. And as a police department, we have to understand that everybody thinks differently, everybody feels differently, and we have to act accordingly to what you want as a police department, what the public wants as a police department.
