TIME FOR KACZMAREK TO GO

Although the Schenectady Police Department has had major problems during
the tenure of Chief Greg Kaczmarek, he does not deserve to be made the
scapegoat.

The department had major problems before he took over, yet despite all its
difficulties and a continuing influx of criminals from New York City, the
Schenectady crime rate has been going down over the past decade.

It is now lower than when Kaczmarek took over, and has gone down in four of
the six years he has been in charge. The public perception of the
department and its chief tends to be worse than the reality.

When Kaczmarek took over, in 1996, he was full of energy and impatient with
officers who could not produce results.

That attitude contributed to what turned out to be his worst mistake,
failing to realize in a timely manner that a few officers were using
illegal anti-crime tactics - i.e. providing drugs to informants. The
resulting scandal has had a devastating impact within the department, and
is the main reason the city is creating the new position of public safety
commissioner that will be filled this spring.

But the scandal also brought some unfair and bitter criticism of Kaczmarek,
who became the easy target of those who would seek to tarnish the entire
department or city. And despite the scandals, he actually improved the
department's internal efforts to prevent and stop police abuses.

He also had to work within sometimes severe fiscal constraints, yet was
(for a Schenectady police chief) unusually good at staying within budget.

The new commissioner will be the police chief's boss, which makes it less
significant whether Kaczmarek stays or goes. However, with the toll of
scandal and his legitimate medical problems, the current chief seems to
have lost the energy and commitment that he once had. He may be eligible
for a disability retirement, which has tax advantages when compared to a
regular police retirement, but he is concerned about whether going that
route would mean that at age 50 he could not seek other employment. City
officials should work with the chief and the state retirement system to
resolve these questions and set the stage for an honorable end to
Kaczmarek's 27-year career as a city police officer.