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05/26/2020 12:00 AMAfter working his entire 30-year career at the Guilford Police Department (GPD), including the last five as chief, Police Chief Jeff Hutchinson is retiring, saying that he is grateful, lucky, and honored to have spent the time he did in town.
“I had a lot of great opportunities, and I enjoyed every minute of being here,” Hutchinson said. “I consider myself—and I’m not just saying this—I’ve been very blessed and honored to have worked for this town. It’s a fantastic town.”
On May 26, Hutchinson’s last day with the department, officers organized a drive-by send-off for the chief, who said he is hoping to spend more time with his family after retiring.
Raised in Guilford, where he attended Calvin Leete Elementary, Adams Middle School, and Guilford High School, Hutchinson said he knew he wanted to work in law enforcement since childhood. He said it hasn’t quite sunk in that after all this time that he will not be a police officer for the first time in more than three decades.
“I think that appreciation will grow as I’m not here, and I’ll miss the people and the things that we do,” Hutchinson said. “Even when I became chief, there were some goals that I set that I wanted to meet, and a lot of those were met—close to all of them.”
Like most things about Hutchinson, his goals were not big, not flashy, and not about being in the spotlight. He said as chief, he wanted equipment and systems upgraded, and put in place better roles, responsibilities, and opportunities for his officers.
It was these kinds of accomplishments—measured, provable, and systematic—that Hutchinson spoke about when asked what he appreciated about the department.
Rather than pick a favorite or special memory from his 30-year career, Hutchinson instead talked about how exceptional Guilford’s training programs and opportunities are.
“It was every time I’ve been out there and I’ve been faced with a situation where a decision needs to be made or something needs to be done, and just having the confidence knowing you’re doing the right thing because you’ve been properly trained,” Hutchinson said. “So it happens daily.”
Specifically, Hutchinson cited the national Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) certification, a voluntary process that looks for strict observance of best practices and requires a rigorous review, including public hearings, that the department received in 2014.
Only 20 other municipal police departments in Connecticut are certified, according to the CALEA website.
Hutchinson said in his experience, proper training and high standards like those put forward by CALEA are what keep officers and communities safe.
“When you see the way we do things, it makes you proud that you’re doing it the way it’s supposed to be done and you have a framework,” he said. “There’s 468 standards of best practices to follow.”
Hutchinson credited the culture cultivated by his predecessors at the department, a town government that worked hand-in-hand with police, and community organizations that prioritized helping others for keeping him happy and able to spend his whole police career in Guilford.
“I’m not saying there weren’t other people here who could have done the job as well. I consider myself, as I said before, very lucky...to have had the background and ability to do [this job],” Hutchinson said. “It was made very easy by the hard work that everybody before me did.”
The ability to collaborate has made Guilford a special place, without politics getting in the way, which Hutchinson said was “refreshing” and not common in other law enforcement agencies and other towns.
“It really makes the job easier when everybody is supporting the same mission, really,” Hutchinson. “It’s not speeding tickets and drug arrests that really drive what we do every day. It’s interacting with the business community, the public, and those other organizations that simply exist to make life better for people.”
Originally, Hutchinson said he had planned to take a summer off and travel with his family after retirement—plans that have been made impossible by the COVID pandemic. He said whether or not those travel plans ever happen, he will be happy to have the extra time at home, without “that second phone on my hip, waiting for it to ring.
“It’s a blessing but it’s a burden sometimes, when you don’t know when the next phone call is coming,” he said.
Hutchison said that nothing is “set in stone,” he also hopes to put his law degree to work at some point, and explore opportunities on that path.
But he said he will never forget the opportunities and experiences that he was given—and helped create—in Guilford.
“It’s amazing to me how many people and organizations are out there...just to help other people,” Hutchinson said. “And to be part of that in a small way is pretty humbling.”