By George P.  Hassett

Ruben Galindo, one of three finalists hoping to be the city’s next chief of police, believes he is perfect for Somerville.

‚ÄúMy wife and I already planned on relocating to the Boston area, and when I read the ad for this job,  I felt like it was a match made in heaven,‚Äù he said at the July 10 question and answer session between the candidates and the public.

Galindo has been an officer in the Miami-Dade Police Department since 1982. He is now a major supervising 135 cops at Miami International Airport, working with a budget of $24.4 million. 

In his resume , Galindo said he introduced innovative strategies that resulted in a 35 percent drop in overall crime and a 45 percent reduction in violent crime. He accomplished this, he said, by identifying the root causes of crime and creating joint investigations.

From 1999 until 2004, Galindo directed police operations in Liberty City, a 16 square mile Miami neighborhood once considered the most dangerous area in the Southeast United States, he said. With 185 cops under him and a 32.5 million budget behind him, he said, crime dropped 38 percent in three years with robberies, the area’s biggest concern, falling by 32 percent.

  Galindo said interaction between the department and all aspects of the community is key. He said Somerville is perfect for community policing.

‚ÄúThere are 80,000 people in four square miles here, that‚Äôs incredible. It‚Äôs ideal for community policing.  There are a lot of people in a small space,‚Äù he said.

According to Acting Police Chief Robert R. Bradley, who is also in the running for the job, community policing in Somerville is ‚Äúa shadow of its former self.‚Äù Galindo said he would make sure cops are in the schools,  building relationships with the youngest of the city‚Äôs youth.

“The sooner we get people on our side, the sooner we can find the bad apples,” he said. “A handshake can be as good as a handcuff.”