GREENFIELD — Months after former Deputy Police Chief William Gordon’s retirement in November, Chief Todd Dodge has selected Lt. Christopher Greene, who has served in the department for more than 30 years, as its next deputy chief.

Greene began his career with Greenfield Police in 1995, when he joined the force as a reserve officer. He was appointed to full-time officer in 1998 and since then, has served as a K-9 officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant and a member of the department’s Special Response Team.

“Chris holds a significant amount of experience over the next candidate — that’s not to impugn the next candidate. The next candidate is very capable, I’m sure, as well, but Chris started in the ’90s. … He has a vast amount of institutional knowledge,” Dodge said. “Chris was what we consider patrolman level for the vast majority of his career; he didn’t do this incremental step-up in rank. He went in different directions.”

The city’s Public Safety Commission voted unanimously to recommend Greene’s appointment during its January meeting. In an interview with Greene and Dodge last week, Greene explained that he hopes to continue the department’s goals of maximizing efficiency.

In 2024, Greene said the Police Department saw an all-time record for call volumes, having received roughly 49,000 calls for service. This trend, he explained, has been consistent for the last few years, as the department’s annual call volume has risen by approximately 10,000 calls each year since 2022.

“We need to be current and up to date on that stuff to manage that kind of volume that comes in,” Greene said. “My goal is to keep working effectively with my chief and the city. Things are going very well right now. I just want to keep that trend going. I enjoy the work 30 years in and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon.”

Discussing the department’s ability to manage rising call volumes, Dodge said Greene will spearhead a plan to make “procedural changes,” including finding ways to upgrade the department’s processing software to make it run more efficiently and save money.

Greene’s appointment will be put before City Council at its Feb. 19 meeting. After announcing his selection for the deputy position at the Public Safety Commission meeting, Dodge explained that Greene’s promotion will leave an empty sergeant and lieutenant position still to be filled. He said he intends to recommend Detective Corey Greene to be promoted to sergeant at the next Public Safety Commission meeting. The Greenes are not related.

At this time, Dodge has no recommendations for the lieutenant’s position.

“This is a several-phase approach to promotions. A few years back when we sort of re-addressed our promotional policy — that was a change I had requested — and I really believe in it,” Dodge said. “Our interview panels are ranking individuals from other police departments that don’t have prior connections to our applicants so the candidates are not to know them. … The process is heavy on objectivity.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.