On Feb. 18, Town manager Robert Houseman announced Hanover Police Department captain and acting chief James Martin as the Department’s next permanent chief. According to Houseman, Martin was selected after a nationwide search that identified 22 candidates.
Houseman had previously appointed Martin acting chief after former police chief Charlie Dennis retired in December 2024. Martin assumed official chief duties on Feb. 24, according to Houseman.
Martin said he was “elated” to learn that he was selected as the permanent chief during a meeting with Houseman on Feb. 18.
“I am humbled by his selection … and looking forward to this next chapter,” Martin added.
Houseman said he hired consulting firm Municipal Resources, Inc. in November 2024 to conduct a “nationwide recruitment process” from a pool of “about 22 applicants mostly from the New England area.” After Houseman interviewed applicants over the phone, the candidates participated in “in-person community panel interview[s]” with 10 community members — including representatives from Dartmouth and faith-based organizations as well as town members — that put them in “boots-on-the-ground scenarios” such as leading “a meeting with subordinates.”
“The process allowed me to make an informed decision about who is the best person for the position,” he said.
Houseman said two internal candidates, lieutenant Michael Schibuola and Martin, “rose above everyone else.” Ultimately, Houseman said he chose Martin because of his “balanced and level approach” and connection to the Hanover community.
“[Martin] is the right person,” Houseman said. “He has the education, experience, demeanor and mindset that fits this community really well.”
Martin said he has been the “number two” officer at the department since 2021. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice and served in the Air Force and Air Force Reserves for 31 years. Before coming to Hanover in 2021, Martin was a police officer in Massachusetts and then a supervisory special agent at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for 20 years in different New England field offices.
Martin said his primary goal is to “take care of the department so that [officers] can care for the community.” He added that he will implement the second year of the department’s current “strategic plan” — a timeline of goals that the “department worked to build together” — and design a new plan in the fall for 2025-2028.
“We’re going to work internally and externally with our community partners such as Dartmouth, residents, [the] business community and others to develop a new three-year strategic plan,” Martin said.
To increase community engagement, Martin said the department will use social media to “showcase” officers “in a human perspective.”
Martin also said he is organizing a Rape Aggression Defense training for students in the spring after “some students in Greek life requested it.” The four-night training will give students “skills to get out of a bad situation.”
As his previous role as captain, Martin tried to increase community engagement with the Department through biking initiatives. Martin said that in 2022, he worked to obtain two electric bikes for Hanover police officers to “make [biking] more approachable for officers.” Hanover Selectboard member Jennie Chamberlain pointed to Martin’s biking initiative when reflecting on his service to the Town.
“I’m grateful for Chief Martin’s … continued success in growing the Hanover Police Bike Patrol, which helps build relations by getting police out of their cars and into the fabric of the community,” Chamberlain wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth.
Safety and Security director Keiselim Montás said Safety and Security and the Hanover Police Department also have been collaborating on bike safety programs — for example, buying lights that riders can put on their bikes — since 2021.
“[Bike safety] was one of the first [priorities] when [Martin] got [to Hanover] because he’s also an avid bicyclist,” Montás said.
Montás added that he is “excited” to continue working with Martin because he is “safety-oriented, listens well and takes feedback from constituents.”
“Maintaining constant communication and keeping each other informed [makes] a great partnership to begin with,” Montás said. “And then being able to collaborate and hear each other out to work toward the single goal of safety for all.”
Montás added that he hopes to collaborate with Hanover Police on a program to reduce the “excessive speed” of scooters on campus and in town.
Martin expressed “hope” for the future of the department. While the department has not been fully staffed in 10 years, according to Houseman, it is working to address gaps in staffing. Four new officers are currently in training to fill four vacant officer positions, according to Martin.
“We will hopefully be able to [have] more proactive community engagements and law enforcement as opposed to being reactive, and a little restricted, based on our critical staffing [issues] that we’ve had for the past few years,” Martin said.
