Concord Police Chief Joseph O’Connor will share his perspectives on his Concord experiences and how community policing has changed over the course of his career on Sunday, Dec. 4 at a Fenn School reception at 2 p.m.
O’Connor concludes his career in public safety and law enforcement when he retires in December. He started his service to Concord in 2014, and will soon be enjoying retirement on Cape Cod with family and friends.
“The Concord Police Department has constantly improved, thanks to the dedication of its professional staff. We recently earned accreditation from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission, and I expect national accreditation to follow. Concord will be in good hands with our outstanding police officers and our supportive community,” O’Connor said. “I am honored to have served you,”
The Concord Police have worked with the Concord-Carlisle Human Rights Council for decades to ensure human rights are respected in Concord. O’Connor’s experiences have afforded him personal insight into diversity and discrimination. His Irish, Italian and Jewish grandparents and great grandparents faced discrimination as immigrants to the United States. Through his job in the Mass General Hospital kitchen as a teen, his police work in the towns of Dennis and Winchester, his work with the MBTA police force where he rose to Superintendent-in-Chief, and now as Chief in Concord, O’Connor knows how to interact with a broad cross-section of people.
He holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from Boston University, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Curry College, and is a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy and the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police. Through it all, he has learned that everyone, no matter where one lives, wants the same thing: to be safe in his or her community. To that end, O’Connor and his team share one goal, “to treat those we serve with respect.”
The police work closely with the community when human rights are in jeopardy, including support for schools around graffiti incidents, aiding residents with lawn sign violations, and dealing with individuals about issues of hate speech.
“Human rights are civil rights, and the Concord Police are proud to protect and uphold them,” he said.
The Human Rights Council was established in 1978. A non-profit organization, its volunteers seek to educate and advocate for human rights, and to connect its local efforts with those of national and international human rights activities. Membership is open to all. Information at www.cchumanrights.org.
