Dover Police Chief Marvin Mailey announces he is retiring
DOVER, Del. – On Tuesday morning, Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen announced with a heavy heart that Police Chief Marvin Mailey is going to be retiring just two years after taking office. A Deputy Chief will temporarily take his place, but we’re told a new chief likely won’t be found until September at the earliest.
We spoke to Dover locals on Tuesday to hear what characteristics they would like to see in a future police chief.
Mark Knott, a Dover resident said, “Walk the beat, don’t sit at a desk.”
Tina Joyner, also a Dover resident said, “The crime, it seems to be a little worse than usual, so it would be nice to see that get a little more tamed.”
Statistics show that in 2018, the City of Dover saw a 30% increase in violent crime.
People who frequently visit the City of Dover say they would like to see that statistic change with a new police chief.
Beau Croll who works in Dover said, “Hopefully everybody just feels safe walking around you know I work in the area I spend a lot of time here just want to be able to feel safe when you walk around and do things like that.”
Chief Marvin Mailey says he feels he did all he could during his time as chief to crack down on crime in Dover. He said, “We did a big push on gang violence we knew that was the origin of a lot of our shootings so we came up with a game plan and we attacked it.”
Chief Mailey wants everyone to know that leaving the Dover police department was his own choice. The Chief said, “I’m not being asked to leave I’m leaving because I want to leave.”
Many people feel Chief Mailey was effective in improving the Dover Police Department with limited manpower. Mayor Christiansen said, “His leadership and guidance have lifted this department to higher levels of efficiency and service to the community and its citizens.”
We’re told it could take a while for the city to find a new chief, so in the meantime they have appointed an acting chief to take Mailey’s place. The city says they have plans to expand their search to ensure they get the best candidate.
Mayor Christiansen said, “We will do a nationwide canvas.”
Deputy Chief Tim Stump won’t become acting chief until May 17th at 4 p.m.
The city says they likely won’t have a new police chief until the Fiscal Year 2020 budget has been completed.
As for what’s next for Chief Mailey, he says he has plans to clean his garage and play some golf.
