Juanita Holmes on leadership in the face of criticism

Juanita Holmes, commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation and veteran law enforcement officer who served in the NYPD for over 35 years and at one time was that agency’s highest-ranking female officer, is facing criticism for various reasons, including hiring her niece for a senior post. There's also concern about an increase in recidivism among probationers. In an interview with City & State, Holmes reveals her rationale behind her decision-making and her plans to keep the agency moving forward. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Commissioner, thank you for speaking with us. If you don't mind, first, please introduce yourself to City & State readers as if they've never heard of you.

I am the commissioner for the New York City Department of Probation, appointed March 2023 by the Hon. Mayor Eric Adams. I come from a family of 12 siblings. I am the second oldest. I grew up in a modest home, born in Brooklyn. That's where my parents bought a three bedroom, one bathroom home. My father was a laborer, whether it was welding or working for the stone company. He just wanted us to be provided with all opportunities available. My bachelor's is in biology. I originally wanted to go into medicine and psychology but I ended up joining the police department as a result of my sister and her boyfriend, who were police. I took the exam and joined the police department in 1987.

When you came to probation in March 2023, what were your primary goals?

Working with the New York City Police Department I was in a lot of our underserved communities. So I'm in those homes. I know what people are met with: the lack of opportunity, the lack of knowledge of an opportunity. I established mentorship groups with strong people behind me. One was “Girl Talk,” a mentorship group that is still going strong in the NYPD, in probation and also 16 high schools in the Department of Education have implemented it. I had a strong juvenile team in most of my commands, I was focused on that, and I thought that was important. But equally, we have strong youth teams that go into the homes of some of our young people, meet with their parents, and try and guide them and encourage them to join some of the successful programs that we had in the police department, such as the Explorer or Cadet programs. I felt that I had the fortitude, the knowledge and the vision to come into probation and bring some opportunities to our client community.

Let’s discuss your transition. There seemed to be some friction that may or may not have catapulted you from the police department to probation in 2023. Do you want to share what went down between you and former Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, if anything?

I have always respected and admired Commissioner Sewell. She was one of my guest speakers for my “Girl Talk” mentorship program. I think that rumor got blown way out of proportion. There was a misunderstanding surrounding the timed run that was a requirement for graduation of the police academy. And the rumors were so strong in the media, they never got the true story. It was the Municipal Police Training Council that would not accept that run as a requirement for graduation. When the department pushed back, the MPTC said, “You can do what you want to do, but if someone files a lawsuit based on not passing the run, then you're going to have to deal with it.” It was never established that the run was required. So it was the state saying this, not the mayor, not me, not myself, and Sewell having some sort of discourse over it. That wasn't the case. But that story never got out there.

Read More