INDIAN ISLAND, Maine — The Penobscot Indian Nation’s chief of police has been named Tribal Police Chief of the Year by WeTip, an organization that operates a national crime prevention and anonymous tip hotline.
Police Chief Robert Bryant credits his department’s staff, saying the award is a reflection not only on the police force but also on the tribal leadership and the Indian Island community as a whole.
“The community is the police, the police are the community. We’re intertwined,” Bryant said Wednesday.
He received an email in late April notifying him of the award.
“They were looking for an agency that has made huge strides in not only the crime prevention area but the community-centered approach,” Bryant said.
In 2006, about 1,300 crimes, many of them involving juveniles and vandalism, were reported on the island of about 650 residents, according to Tribal Chief Kirk Francis.
It was around that time that some tribal members were becoming worried about the crime rate and called for changes during council meetings, Francis said.
Bryant took over the deparment late that year and began pushing a community policing mentality, becoming more proactive than reactive and involving residents in attempts to reduce crime.
About a year and a half ago, Penobscot Nation police began partnering with WeTip in an effort to keep tabs on crime in the community and give residents an option for anonymously reporting past crimes or offering tips that crimes might happen.
By 2010, the number of crimes reported on the island dropped to 160 for the year.
Francis said Bryant has worked with tribal leaders and the community in an attempt to bring those numbers down.
Under Bryant’s watch, the police force also has switched to hybrid vehicles, acquiring three gas-and-electric Toyota Highlanders and a Toyota Camry in 2009 to patrol the island.
Bryant said the department’s fuel expenses have been chopped by 40 percent since the purchases.
Francis said the Police Department has pushed to increase its involvement in the community, helping with events such as community walks that promote a healthy lifestyle, drug takeback programs and food pantry drives.
“This accolade was extremely well-deserved, and I think within Indian country we can be really proud of the department we have,” Francis said.
But yet they dont inspect or interfere with State Police doing the checks that bring people back and forth the Island to play Bingo. Priorities I guess
I was thinking the same thing
Isn’t the last chief in the pokey?
Wrong Tribe.
Where did Police Chief Robert Bryant originate from? He is not a relative of Wayne Mitchell by any chance (not dark enough and obviously too smart) , or has he the obvious “Blood Quantum Law” establishment to consider himself a tribal Indian of the Penobscot Nation – or does the Police Chief and other operatives really need to be of any Indian heritage? Anyway, congratulations to the award received. Chief Bryant seems to have turned around the crime issues on the Island. The place sure came a long way from the time when canoes paddled their way back and forth from the island to the shores of Old Town, and the only crimes on the island were an occasional drunk (Ben Gun) or a fist fight. (Research from old news reports)
Really!!
Actually, there is a little fun being poked here, but all in jest, and I hope those nice people on the island don’t take the comment with umbrage.
Bryant is not Indian. He is married to a Penobscot woman.
Congratulations to the Police Chief along with the citizens of Indian Island. WeTip needs a community’s involvement to work well. On his watch, according to the article, a major bite has been taken out of crime.
What I don’t understand is the negativity in the comments regarding Police Chief Bryant. Having something bring crime down in every community would be great.
I have known Bob Bryant for a number of years now and can attest to the fact that he is great guy. He is not just a good police officer, he is a great family man, and he cares about his community and that includes the community off the island. Just to clear the air here ,I am not Native American but I was born in Old Town and have lived in this community for 65 years. As far as negative comments concerning Native American issues it shouldn’t come as a great shock to you . We’ve come a long way in fighting ignorance but the sad truth is it is always going to be present .
Congratulations, and well deserved!
Was it not Joey Barnes Chief of Police from the Pleasant Point reservation who got the same award?
I think he’s in the slammer now doing time for theft.
It seems to me that we read about far more thefts and embezzlement activity off the reservations that we do on the reservations. Each and every day in communities all across Maine there are stories of trusted public servants who have stolen and embezzled public funds. It happens one time at Pleasant Point and once at Indian Township and people hold on to it forever.
The rate that this happens in the general population by far exceeds the rate that this happens on the reservation.
Stop generalizing, heckling and stereotyping Native Americans!