Deputy
Chiefs Paul Upton and Michael Cabral said the new positions, filled in
September for the first time since the 1980s, increase accountability
in the department's leadership.

"Before, there were six captains
[in the department], all equal in rank. No one was the boss, the chain
of command was flattened out. So if one captain was not doing what they
were supposed to do, all [responsibility] fell on the chief," Cabral
said.

The jobs include a salary of $144,000, slightly higher
than a captain's salary of $137,000. Cabral and Upton, however, said
they could see their pay decrease because they are no longer eligible
to work private details.

Cabral supervises the patrol division
and took on added administrative duties as part of his new job. Upton
oversees investigations and the internal affairs department.

The
two new jobs are part of a department wide reorganization that includes
adding two police substations on the east and west ends of the city and
increasing community outreach efforts, Upton said. Those efforts
started under former Acting Chief Robert Bradley and continue under
current chief, Anthony Holloway.

"We've been trying to reach out
more to the community," Upton said. "When I was growing up in Davis
Square, everyone knew everyone else. You don't see that anymore. But
we're trying to get back to that."

It is a good time for the Somerville Police Department, Cabral said.

"We are the envy right now of a lot of local police departments," he said.