NEWPORT — A hard line on truancy may have opened the door for Orleans County prosecutor Keith Flynn to become the state’s top cop.
Gov.-elect Peter Shumlin appointed Mr. Flynn last month as his commissioner of public safety.
Shumlin told a conference on business and education last Friday that he was impressed by the timely way Mr. Flynn has dealt with the problem of kids skipping school.
Under Flynn’s watch, the governor noted, kids who are truant see a cruiser showing up in their yard three days after they have been absent from school.
Prior to that it was 12 days.
Shumlin said he told the prosecutor: “You’re hired because you get it.”
The appointment ends a 12-year stint that began in 1998 when Mr. Flynn defeated incumbent Jane Woodruff for a four-year term as state’s attorney. It’s a job he has held ever since, and in an interview Monday from his office, Mr. Flynn sounded as if he plans to take a lesson he learned as prosecutor to his new position in Montpelier.
“A state of limited resources needs to use them to the best possible uses,” says Flynn, who as a prosecutor worked closely with allied community organizations to combat truancy and child abuse.
Flynn says there is a direct correlation between crime and education. Those who don’t finish high school wind up in jail more often than those who receive a diploma.
By clamping down on truancy early, Flynn believes, he is fighting crime on two fronts. On the one hand, he says, it’s an effective way of keeping the crime rate down. And, on the other, it can be done efficiently without jeopardizing public safety.
Through collaboration with other agencies, his office set up a Special Investigative Unit (SIU) that serves the residents of Essex, Orleans, Caledonia and Orange counties. By employing what Mr. Flynn calls “an economy of scale,” the unit uses only one administrator and puts three investigators into the field to protect the residents who are most vulnerable to crime: the elderly and children.
“We have been getting great results,” says Flynn, a native of Derby Line.
SIU officers receive special training that in turn leads to better cases and better prosecution, says Mr. Flynn.
“People are the backbone of public safety,” he says.
As a state trooper for six years and as a prosecutor who has repeatedly won high-profile cases, Mr. Flynn combines years of law enforcement with administrative experience. That may be his greatest asset in a state government that is facing a large deficit.
One of his priorities as commissioner, he says, is “to make sure we’re fiscally responsible.” He says he will bring to his new Montpelier job a “performance-based budget,” and one that seeks to deliver services efficiently.
A Republican, Mr. Flynn threw his hat into the ring when he “heard the Governor-elect was going after individuals who were appropriate for the job.”
In a press release announcing the appointment, Shumlin characterized the Orleans County prosecutor as someone with the skill and experience “to be a great Commissioner of Public Safety.”
In speaking about his new job, Flynn carefully points out that the position is not limited to the police. Firefighters and their departments, along with emergency management, also fall under his purview. It’s a job, in other words, that would appeal to a man in public life who has fostered collaboration within both the judicial criminal system and the community at large.
“The commissioner of public safety needs to be a leader in that area,” he says.
No replacement has been named for Flynn, who was re-elected to a four-year term in last month’s General Election.
Shumlin is expected to fill the vacancy from a list of three candidates submitted to him by a caucus of Orleans County Republicans,
Chet Greenwood of Newport, who heads the county party, said so far no one interested in serving out the term has contacted him.
For Flynn, no change in the guard would be complete without one last look back.
As a prosecutor, he says, he tried to serve the public at large, both the victims and the defendants. In recommending sentences following a conviction, he said, he tried to administer justice proportionally. A sentence that would protect the public on the one hand, and on the other address the needs of an individual defendant.
“I’m going to miss being in court,” he said. “I had an opportunity to make a difference, and I hope I’ve made a difference.”
