Quick Chronicles: Article 4
The praise was unexpected. A driver who was stopped for speeding along Route 1A sent Police Chief Russell Stevens a thank-you note.
The driver’s note to Stevens complimented the officer for their professionalism and demeanor after getting a warning. Stevens holds on to that note, and many others like it, in his office at the Public Safety Building in Hamilton.
Stevens uses notes like this to measure success as the town’s police chief for the past 15 and a half years. In all, Stevens has been in law enforcement for 41 years and will retire at age 60 on June 30, 2025.
Stevens attributes much of his success to the quality of the officers he hired, who made him “look good” by their actions. He will leave in June as the longest-serving active police chief in Essex County, where he arrived in 2009 and didn’t know anyone.
He moved from northeast Connecticut, where he worked at Connecticut State Police headquarters as chief of staff for the colonel of a 1,600-officer department.
“I really wanted to go back to small town policing where I can wear the uniform, walk downtown, and say hi to the kids,” he said.
That’s what Stevens found in Hamilton. He helped develop new training procedures and restructured the department. Hamilton PD was accredited for the first time under Stevens leadership, and it has gone through the intense process now four times. Hamilton was one of the first departments on the North Shore to receive state accreditation.
“I didn’t realize how positive and rewarding it would be,” he said. He recalls trying to fit his knees under the cafeteria table during lunchtime at the Winthrop Elementary School and having the students show him what they ate for lunch.
In a sense, it was full circle for Stevens, whose first job was as an officer in Sturbridge, a town of 10,000 in central Massachusetts that felt like Hamilton when he started his career there. His father was also a police officer who started in Bellingham before spending many years on the Massachusetts State Police.
Stevens beams with pride as he notes he hired or promoted every current Hamilton police officer in the department.
“What is great about going from a big department to a little department is I know every officer in the department,” he said. “I got to build a department.”
His tenure as Hamilton’s Police Chief for a decade and a half contrast with national trends. The National Police Association reports that the average tenure now ranges from two to three years.
He restored trust in the department and developed deep connections across the community.
“There was a lot going on when I arrived,” Steven said.
Stevens held presidencies in two major policing organizations as President of the Mass Police Chiefs Association (where he continues to serve on the Executive Board as the Essex County representative) and current President of the Mass Police Accreditation Commission. He is also on the Executive Board for the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Institute and on the Governor’s Community Policing and Behavioral Health Advisory Council and is an active member of the Hamilton Human Rights Commission.
Chief Stevens holds a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications. He is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy and serves as an adjunct professor within Criminal Justice department at Merrimack College.
“Chief Stevens has the trust and respect of every person I’ve met that knows him,” said Town Manager Joseph Domelowicz. “He came to Hamilton at a time when the town was going through some changes, when the department was going through changes and he helped the people that were here navigate those changes and be better for it.”
The community has supported the police department, added Stevens.
“It has been truly a community-engaged department,” he said, noting officers get involved with everything, ranging from scooping ice cream at the Patton Park summer camp to serving meals to senior citizens during the holidays.
Chief Stevens’ accomplishments reflect his commitment to policing. By restructuring the department—including modernizing the rank structure—he opened pathways for career advancement, giving officers a greater sense of purpose and long-term opportunity. This helped build a culture where officers felt valued, invested in, and motivated to stay. His efforts to establish Hamilton’s first School Resource Officer and Comfort Dog Program showed local youth that their well-being mattered, and partnerships with teachers and administrators working in education here are a priority.
Edward Guy was named the town’s next police chief last month by the Select Board and will start working a few days a week in Hamilton, overlapping with Stevens, who will introduce Guy to every officer, as Guy gets to know the entire operation and the budget.
“When he comes here on July 1, he is not going to be new,” Stevens said. “When I started, I walked into an empty building. The chief was already gone, and there was no transition plan.”
“The goal is a seamless transition from Stevens to Guy for the community and department,” said Domelowicz.
Stevens said he will remain available as an interim chief in another community and continue with his consulting work at Public Safety Consultants, LLC.
Accomplishments in Hamilton
During his 15 + year tenure in Hamilton, Chief Stevens achieved several accomplishments:
- Comprehensive department reorganization and restructuring, including the rank structure
- Developed updated policies and procedures
- Established the first School Resource Officer
- Attained state accreditation with the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission, Inc (MPAC) four times
- Initiated the first Comfort Dog Program
- Began managing the dispatch center
- Initiated a Citizens Police Academy
- Under his leadership, Hamilton officers established a Silver Alert Program (Designed to support families caring for adults with serious memory impairments, such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs and the Alzheimer’s Association)
- Under his leadership, Hamilton officers created an Autism-Disability Outreach Program (For identifying individuals with Autism Spectrum who live, work, or attend school in Hamilton or Wenham)
- Under his leadership, Hamilton Officers implemented the ALICE protocol (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) in schools
As Chief Stevens prepares to retire, the Town of Hamilton invites residents and colleagues to share their memories, stories, or notes of appreciation. Please email your messages to [email protected]. These reflections will be collected and shared with Chief Stevens as a tribute to his service.
This article is part of Quick Chronicles, a series of brief blog-format stories celebrating the people, events, and history of the town. Inspired by the legacy of the Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle, the former print community newspaper, these mini features will shine a spotlight on the vibrant Hamilton community and the remarkable individuals who live and work here.“ Quick Chronicles” aims to keep the spirit of local storytelling alive, sharing snapshots of what makes Hamilton unique while fostering a deeper connection among residents.
Quick Chronicles stories are available for media to share as long as the writer is credited and the story links to Hamiltonma.gov. A Thank-You Note and a Legacy, is written by Robert Gates.
