(Tribune News Service) — Mark Bensen was ready to retire when he saw a job opening for police chief at the Nez Perce Tribal Police Department.

At 55 years old, he wasn’t done and it was the perfect fit, so he decided to apply.

“I still wanted to work, I thought it would be a great way to make a difference,” Bensen said.

The Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee appointed Bensen as chief of police after he interviewed in April. Bensen signed the contract in October and started the job Nov. 1.

Bensen, who is not a tribal member, is from Moscow and his wife, Rachel, is from Orofino. They have been married 27 years, spending the last 24 in Federal Way, Wash. They have three grown sons; two are twins, one of whom is also in the process of becoming a police officer.

“We’ve always promised each other we would come home,” Bensen said. “If we came over here, we never called it ‘we’re going on vacation.’ We say ‘we’re going home.’”

Bensen brings a lot of experience and knowledge to his position. He is a Marine Corps veteran and worked in Clearwater County from 1992-94 and in Latah County from 1994-99. He then spent 24 years at the Federal Way Police Department in various roles.

In addition to his years in the service, Bensen earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Idaho, where he also met his wife. He also received a master’s of business administration and a master’s of science in organizational leadership when he was 53 and 54.

Having those degrees helps with understanding and implementing a department’s budget. He said the business and budget side to law enforcement is often a forgotten but important aspect to the job.

“A lot of people don’t understand that it is a business and you have to run it successfully and not squander the people’s dollars and use it for the betterment of the tribe,” Bensen said.

He’s also taken leadership training courses from the FBI. It’s taught by some of the best chiefs and sheriffs in the country, he said, and as an example his mentor in the program is now the chief of police for the New Orleans Police Department. It was through his training that Bensen received the Trilogy Award from the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association for completing the FBI’s Supervisor Leadership Institute, Command Leadership Institute, and Executive Leadership Institute, according to a news release from the Nez Perce Tribe.

Bensen’s experience in law enforcement is also different from most. He’s been a part of building a department from the ground up. King County policed Federal Way until the city decided to have its own police department in 1996. Bensen was one of three officers from Latah County who went to the new department in 1999.

There was a lot of confusion when the department first started because officers came from other states and brought their policies with them, so one person would want something done one way and someone else would want it done another way. But the process of starting a new department from nothing has given him experience in establishing policy and other aspects on the administration side.

“Everything I’ve been doing for the last 24 years, there’s so many things I can help out and implement here and get things going,” Bensen said.

Even with all that training and experience under his belt, he’s still learning things in his new position, like the ins and outs of Indian law and the differences in state code, federal law and tribal law.

“That was a big learning curve compared to the 24 years I’ve been with Washington law,” Bensen said.

Once Bensen finishes training and gets settled into his role, he can focus on the department and serving the community.

“Just like any new chief, there’s no such thing as a utopian police department and there’s things you want to make better for your officers and for the tribe,” Bensen said.

Some of the areas he wants to work on are policy and training. Another area he wants to start looking into is a school resource officer, because he’s seen benefits from it. He’s already heard from community members about slowing the use of drugs on the Nez Perce Reservation, and one tool he has for that is the department’s drug detection dog.

One of the issues that he and many other law enforcement officers are facing is staffing shortages. At his last position in Federal Way, when he left there were 27 empty officer positions in a department of 150. The number of hurdles a person has to jump through to become an officer reduces the number of people eligible to apply, and can deter people from even beginning the process.

“Everyone’s struggling with hiring right now,” Bensen said.

He said that very few law enforcement departments are fully staffed, but to fill in those gaps they rely on assistance from other agencies to help out when it’s needed. It’s one of the reasons Bensen wants to continue to grow the relationship the tribal police department has with other area departments.

When he applied to the Nez Perce Tribal Department, Bensen reached out to local sheriff offices, Idaho State Police captains and some other area police chiefs to ask them about their relationship with the tribal department and what he could do if he became chief. One of those conversations was with the former police chief, Harold Scott, who retired. Bensen talked with Scott when he came to interview for the position.

Now that he has the role, Bensen is continuing to meet with individuals to keep building those relationships.

“I want to know how they get along and what the relationships were,” Bensen said. “It was a good start to get to know these people and there’s good law enforcement leaders that work with us.”

While he’s familiar with the area, he is getting used to the communities he’s serving as chief, all 1,195 square miles of the Nez Perce Tribe.

“Every community is different,” Bensen said. “That’s one of the jobs of the chief is to have the pulse of the community to know what they need and what they want.”

Shannon Wheeler, Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee chairman, said in a news release that Bensen brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and education in his new role.

“We are pleased to have him on board and confident in his ability to lead the Nez Perce Tribe Police Department in fulfilling its duty to provide safety for our communities,” Wheeler said in the news release.

Others have also been welcoming and receptive and Bensen has learned what the community wants is a solid law enforcement agency they can rely on.

“Something I’m telling my officers every day is I want them just out there present and engaged,” Bensen said. “We’re going to work every day in everything we do to earn the tribe’s trust. That’s always on our hearts and minds when we’re out here.”

(c)2023 the Lewiston Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho)

Visit the Lewiston Tribune

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.