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Charleston Police Department’s new chief ready to lead
By Kathleen Dayton
Staff Writer
When Greg Mullen was sworn in as Charleston’s new chief of police, he was finally stepping into the role he had been preparing for his entire life.
“I wanted to be a chief from the time I started in law enforcement,” Mullen said. “That was kind of a life-long goal and I took every opportunity along the way to prepare for that, so when the opportunity arrived, I would be ready.”
Mullen took over the reins Oct. 2 from interim Charleston Chief of Police Ned Hethington, who replaced longtime chief Reuben Greenberg upon Greenberg’s retirement in August 2005.
Mullen’s career path was set from childhood. His father was a police chief in Rocky Mount, N.C., and his older brother was fire chief there until retiring on the same day Mullen officially accepted his duties in Charleston.
“The family has been in public service forever,” Mullen said. “From my birth, I was around policemen all the time. Most of the friends and family we had were policemen or related to that world, so I had that in my blood from an early age.”
Although he knew he wanted to work in some form of law enforcement, Mullen joined the Air Force at age 19 and spent three years as a B-52 gunner, then another three years as a special agent with the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations. After leaving active duty, he remained with the investigative unit for 16 years as a reservist, retiring in 2002.
“I got a lot of really good training out of the military, both in investigations and in other areas that were provided to me,” Mullen said. “It just kind of helped me prepare for what I was going to ultimately do.”
Mullen became a police officer in Virginia Beach, Va., in January 1984, and for more than 20 years worked in various units within the department, including patrol, narcotics, criminal intelligence and resort operations. The department appointed him deputy chief two years ago.
Virginia Beach Chief of Police Jake Jacocks said Mullen clearly rose to the top of the list of applicants for the position.
“He did an excellent job as deputy chief here and quite frankly he did an exceptional job before that, as captain and in his other positions coming up through the ranks,” Jacocks said.
Mullen’s initial assignment as deputy chief was as head of the investigative division, and he was most recently in charge of the operations division, which includes all uniformed patrol.
“He was well-thought-of in the community, he was well-thought-of internally and everybody was proud to see him get the job in Charleston, but the vast majority of people were very sorry to see him leave Virginia Beach,” Jacocks said. “Charleston’s got a winner. He’s going into a department that is already on solid footing, but I think he’s going to take it to the next level.”
Mullen and his wife then visited Charleston and did some looking around before deciding if it was a place where they would want to live.
“It’s always a hard decision to break out of your comfort zone, but we just felt comfortable with Charleston,” Mullen said. “I just felt like it would be a good fit for me.”
Q&A with Chief of Police Greg Mullen
Charleston Regional Business Journal: What are some of the reasons you decided to accept the Chief of Police position with the City of Charleston Police Department?
Greg Mullen: I really like the values of the city, when I look around at what the city is doing, not only from the business side of the equation, but from the involvement of the community in trying to improve the lives of everyone who lives here. There are things like the Operation Neighborhood activities that try to preserve the culture of the city and the environment. All of these things are good value. I just felt like if I was going to leave Virginia Beach (Va.), I wanted to go somewhere where I thought my values would fit and I could make a contribution.
CRBJ: What is your perception of how well the Charleston Police Department works with local businesses? Do you have any ideas on how the department might improve or strengthen its relationship with area businesses?
GM: Obviously, I’m still learning all the different things that are occurring here in the city, but based on what I’ve been able to observe and gather from talking with different people, it seems the department has a very positive relationship at this point with the business community.
We have two officers here in the department that work specifically with tourism issues affecting the community and businesses. And the team commanders who work through the city are available and approachable. They’re pretty much the
contact point for anyone who has concerns.
In terms of what we can do better, I have found over the years, for me at least, that you have to be available, you have to be willing to listen and you have to provide opportunities for business owners to see you face-to-face. In Virginia Beach, we met regularly with the hotel/motel association and the restaurant association. That’s one of the things I’ll do here.
CRBJ: What are your thoughts on fighting crime in downtown Charleston and have any local businesses contacted you with special concerns?
GM: I have not heard of any specific things. Before I got here, I was keeping up with things happening with the city and there’s a lot of concern about violent crime. The East Side seems to have gotten a significant amount of publicity.
In a tourist town, you’ve got to be concerned as much about the perception as the reality. If people are fearful in a tourist town, that can be a problem. If you are looking at things from a tourist standpoint, you obviously are concerned about going to a place where there’s a lot of violent crime.
Unfortunately, crime is up this year around the country. Many of the resort areas have had crime increases. It’s sweeping the country right now and people are trying to determine what is the best way to deal with it. One of the things I’ll tell the business community is that you can’t depend on the police to solve all these problems; you’ve got to be alert to things that can impact your business.
It’s partly my problem, but businesses have got to get involved. They’ve got to educate their patrons. They’re part of the solution.
CRBJ: What is similar or different about the business community in Charleston compared to Virginia Beach?
GM: The resort operations and tourism are a significant economic driver and that’s a significant similarity. It’s very important to stay alert to that and to be in touch with the elements that are impacting tourism.
I think one of the things that is much dissimilar is Charleston is very diverse in terms of economic drivers. You have tourism here, you have the College of Charleston with about 12,000 people put into a very dense area, then you have MUSC and the Citadel and all of the cultural aspects and the festivals that occur here. It’s just a non-stop year-round destination.
The (tourist season) in Virginia Beach is expanding but it is nowhere near what Charleston is as far as the frequency of events going on year-round and the people coming in.
CRBJ: How familiar were you with Charleston before you took the job?
GM: I had been here before for a conference. In 1989, we sent a contingency of officers from Virginia Beach here to help after Hurricane Hugo. Then, when Hurricane Isabel hit Virginia Beach (in September 2003), Charleston sent a contingency of officers to help us.
One of my best friends in Virginia Beach was in the military and he was stationed in Charleston for five years. He and I talked about Charleston a lot and he took me around and showed me all around and kind of familiarized me with the area. I just met people and talked to them and I actually saw some police officers and talked to them, without telling them what I was doing. All the feedback was positive and the people just seemed to be very hospitable here.
CRBJ: How would you describe your personality?
GM: I think I am approachable. I think I’m very open to listening to the concerns of everyone without making a judgment until I hear all the facts. I’m also a very hard worker. I don’t ask my officers to do anything I wouldn’t be willing to do myself and I think it’s important that I serve as a support to the officers. I don’t have to be out in front. I’m very comfortable giving credit to other people who accomplish things. I probably get the greatest satisfaction out of seeing other people grow and develop and do well.
CRBJ: Do you think the number of officers on foot patrol has a direct correlation to crime and do you expect those numbers to change?
GM: I think everybody in Charleston would like to have a foot patrol officer, but I don’t think that is going to be realistic because we just don’t have enough officers to do that. What you’ll see is the way we deploy officers will change. The number of bicycle patrols will be increasing.
Kathleen Dayton is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at kdayton@charlestonbusiness.com.
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