[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 31 (Friday, March 9, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S2116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SALUTING DOVER'S POLICE CHIEF

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a true local 
hero in my State, Dover's Police Chief Keith Faulkner.
  Chief Faulkner retired his badge earlier this month after an 
unprecedented 28 years of service on the Dover Police Department. His 
service and leadership truly were unique. He joined the police force as 
a student cadet and is the first and only such officer to rise to the 
rank of Chief of Police.
  Personally, I have to admit I know what it must feel like when a 
police officer's long-serving, trusted partner retires. Keith Faulkner 
proudly first put on his Dover Police uniform the same year I took 
office as a U.S. Senator. Chief Faulkner and I have been through a lot 
together, and I will greatly miss his advice, counsel and support.
  Fortunately, Chief Faulkner isn't going far. He already has started a 
new venture at nearby Delaware State University in Dover as associate 
director of public safety. DSU just formed a police department last 
year, and I am confident the University, its students and faculty will 
benefit immensely from his nearly three decades of law enforcement 
experience.
  Chief Faulkner is widely credited with restoring and strengthening 
the Dover Police Department's reputation as a leading law enforcement 
agency in our State. Under his command, Dover achieved the coveted 
national accreditation, a distinction shared by only about 700 police 
forces nationwide. He also presided over the institutionalization of 
community policing on the Dover police force, which has contributed to 
reducing crime and boosting the confidence of local residents in the 
police. In fact, for the first time ever, crime rates for violent and 
non-violent crimes are down for the past two straight years.
  And his commitment to public service goes beyond Dover. Keith has 
served as Vice-Mayor on the Smyrna Town Council, Chair of the Delaware 
Police Chiefs' Council, and sits on my independent Military Academy 
Review Board to interview and select the high school students I appoint 
to our national military service academies.
  To be honest, the real purpose of this tribute to Chief Faulkner is 
not to wish him a ``happy retirement!'' I am confident he will continue 
to be a leader in our State on law enforcement issues. And I am hopeful 
that his role as a public servant has only just begun.
  I wish Keith and his family many more years of good health, safety 
and good fortune.

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