The city of Healdsburg has a new police chief and it’s the Healdsburg Police Department’s (HPD) own Matt Jenkins, who has served as the police department’s lieutenant for the last eight years and has been with the department for almost two decades.
News of Jenkins’ new role was announced by the city on July 29 following a lengthy police chief recruitment and interview process.
“I’m absolutely excited to have this opportunity. It is such a great community to work for and to live in. I am honored and humbled to be selected as the Healdsburg Police Department’s next Chief of Police,” Jenkins said.
“To be able to have this opportunity to lead this department is just beyond words. I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.
Jenkins has worked with the Healdsburg Police Department (HPD) since 2002 when he started as a college intern.
He attended the police academy at the Santa Rosa Junior College he became a sworn police officer with the department in 2003. In 2006, he was promoted to police sergeant.
While working patrol as a sergeant, Jenkins served as a school resource officer and also worked as a field training program supervisor.
“I always knew I wanted to promote. When I started I don’t think I ever had the idea that one day I would get police chief, but I definitely had aspirations to promote to sergeant,” Jenkins said.
Over the course of his career, he was later promoted to lieutenant, the second-in-command to the chief, and oversaw the department’s patrol and support services divisions. He also worked to get master’s degrees in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University and in law enforcement and public safety leadership from the University of San Diego.
With 19 years of police service under his belt, Jenkins said getting the police chief role was something that he had been working toward, knowing that at some point former Police Chief Kevin Burke would set his sights on retirement.
“I wanted to make sure that I was competitive to be able to step in,” Jenkins said.
Burke announced his plans to retire in November 2020 and officially retired in June. The city then launched a statewide marketing process in an effort to recruit candidates.
Healdsburg City Manager Jeff Kay said the city received many qualified applicants for the position, but in the end, Jenkins was chosen for his demonstrated commitment to community, his deep knowledge of Healdsburg and for his openness toward adapting to more forward-thinking policing.
“It was really important to cast a wide net and I think it’s a really attractive job so I knew we were going to have a lot of interest, but at the end of the day one of the things that we heard from the community that was important to them and important to me, was to have somebody who has all of the technical and professional skills needed, but who also has a deep commitment to the community and can be part of the community. Matt just demonstrates that in abundance,” Kay said. “He’s been in Healdsburg for a long time, he’s raising a family here and he’s definitely much more than just a police professional, he’s part of the community.”
Kay said he appreciates Jenkins’ vision for the police department, which builds on Burke’s vision for a more progressive approach to policing with a focus on community building and introducing a licensed clinical social worker.
In June 2020, Burke introduced his plan to pursue a major police department reorganization and reallocation of funds in order to create a community equity team with a licensed clinical social worker and an officer.
The goal of the program is to improve community outreach, specifically within marginalized communities and to create a police culture centered around equity and fairness.
Kay was also impressed with Jenkins’ ability and desire to reach all segments of the community. He said Jenkins has been active in trying to build positive community relationships in the Ward Street neighborhood where some crimes have occurred over the last year.
Jenkins has also worked on community outreach with Corazón Healdsburg.
Kay said there were many applicants and after vetting them all they brought in six for a series of rigorous interviews with two interview panels.
Local youth activist Noe Naranjo, Reach for Home Executive Director Margaret Sluyk, and Carlos Carrera, vice chair of the Corazón Board of Directors comprised the community panel and there was also a subject matter expert panel. Both panels conducted interviews of the candidates and a community survey on police chiefs also helped inform the police chief decision.
“We had multiple people that could have done this job and done it well, so that was a good position to be in, it just turned out that he (Jenkins) was the best,” Kay said.
Jenkins said he is looking forward to working as the department’s police chief. He’s also excited about the licensed clinical social worker role.
“We’re working on getting that position filled and started here in the not-so-distant future, so I am excited to do that and get that off the ground and see what kind of impacts we can make with that approach to policing,” Jenkins said.
He said he hopes to be able to provide the best level of police service of anywhere in the country.
“I know that’s kind of a lofty idealization, but that’s my goal and that is the level of police service that we should be providing to the community,” he said.
Jenkins said his family is also excited for him and his new role.
“They were beyond excited when I told them that I got the position. They are very happy and they are very supportive,” he said.
Jenkins lives in Healdsburg with his wife and two daughters and has been active in the local little league team for the last five years.
“I am very pleased and excited that Matt has been chosen for this position. I have always been impressed with him and it is great to have someone in the local community and his experience is phenomenal,” said Healdsburg Mayor Evelyn Mitchell said.
Mitchell said she first met Jenkins when the Humane Society of Sonoma County opened their shelter in Healdsburg and when the contract for animal services for the city was under Jenkins’ purview.
Mitchell said of Jenkins and his appointment to the role, “We couldn’t have done better.”
