Overview:
Montague Police Department's new chief, Jason Haskins, was celebrated at a pinning ceremony attended by first responders from across Franklin County. Haskins, a Montague native, has 25 years of law enforcement experience and was previously a member of the Greenfield Police Department. He was chosen for his local ties and knowledge of policing. Haskins expressed his gratitude for the support of his family and the guidance of his colleagues as he enters his new role. He also emphasized his commitment to community policing and building trust with the community.
MONTAGUE — First responders from across Franklin County gathered at Turners Falls High School on Thursday for a pinning ceremony for new Montague Police Chief Jason Haskins.
Haskins, 48, was joined by his family and members of the Montague Police Department, along with members of the Greenfield Police Department, where Haskins has worked for the last 18 years. Other departments in attendance included Turners Falls Fire, Greenfield Fire, Erving Police, Gill Police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
Former Montague Police Chief Christopher Williams, who recommended Haskins apply for the job and who spent 36 years at the department prior to his retirement, also attended. Haskins has been with the Montague Police Department since November, working alongside Williams during the transitional period between leadership.
To open the ceremony, Montague Police Detective Sgt. Joshua Hoffman introduced Haskins. Hoffman has known Haskins through collaboration between their departments from neighboring towns, and said that, based on the number of people at the ceremony, Haskins’ “personality, professionalism and compassion” has impacted the community.
“I’m sure I can speak for everybody at the [Montague Police Department] when I say we are fortunate to gain a leader as professional and in tune with modern-day police practices as Jason,” Hoffman said.
Haskins has been a familiar face in Franklin County law enforcement since the 1990s. A Montague native with 25 years of law enforcement experience, he has been with Greenfield Police since 2007, and previously served as chief of police in Colrain from January 2009 to January 2016. His career began in 1999 as a patrol officer, and in an interview in October, he said a career goal was to serve as a police chief.
Haskins comes to Montague with management experience in policing, as well as continued education and police training. He earned his associate degree in criminal justice from Holyoke Community College in 2015 and his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2019. He is actively working toward his doctorate through Keiser University.
Greenfield Police Chief Todd Dodge said on Friday that while it’s bittersweet to lose Haskins in Greenfield, Haskins has always been working toward serving in a chief’s role. Dodge said Haskins has “a big heart,” with a compassionate personality and a listening ear, making him a leader in the effort to improve community relations.
Additionally, Dodge is confident that with Haskins at the helm in the neighboring department, there will be frequent collaboration between Greenfield and Montague.
“Both towns will benefit greatly,” he said. “I trust him, he trusts me, so our collaboration will be strong and everywhere we can share resources, we will.”
After Williams announced his plans to retire in the fall, Montague put together a search committee to select the incoming chief, with Haskins standing out among other applicants for his local ties and knowledge in policing. Haskins joined the Montague Selectboard on Dec. 1 to be formally instituted as chief before the pinning ceremony.
On Thursday, Selectboard Chair Matthew Lord spoke on behalf of the town, sharing how he learned that Haskins understands the “conception of the role” not just based on his law enforcement experience, but also his time spent working as a kitchen chef early on in life. Lord said Haskins connected the two roles in how they share public service as a core theme, and helped him understand the type of leader Haskins could be for Montague.
“That helped me understand something about him that I hadn’t expected,” Lord said, adding that Haskins has “a core understanding of public service.”
In his address to members of the Montague Police Department, his family and the audience, Haskins emotionally shared his gratitude for his family’s support and for guidance from members of the department as he enters this new role.
“Policing isn’t just a career choice for me. It’s a calling that was shaped by my family and grounded in my family,” Haskins said.
Haskins thanked both Williams and Hoffman for their encouragement in applying for the job, and to Hoffman specifically for his guidance in transitioning to a new department. He also reiterated his ethos in policing and commitment to the community.
“I believe deeply that community policing is not a program, it’s not a slogan [and] it’s not an assignment. It’s a belief system. It’s a culture. It’s how we treat people when no one is watching, how we listen before we act and how we build trust day by day, call by call,” he said. “My goal as chief is to build and protect that culture, so it’s lived by every member of this department and felt by every resident we serve.”