BOSTON (WHDH) - Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday selected former New Jersey Lt. Col. Geoffrey Noble as the next colonel of the Massachusetts State Police, capping a more than year-long search following the retirement of former state police Col. Christopher Mason.
Noble has spent 30 years in law enforcement, including 13 years in command roles. He is expected to assume leadership of the Massachusetts State Police in October.
“Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Noble has dedicated his career to public service, rising to the highest levels of the New Jersey State Police and delivering results on some of the most pressing issues facing law enforcement,” Healey said in a statement.
Healey said Noble is a “a principled, respected leader who is widely praised for his integrity, compassion and ability to bring people together.”
“I’m confident that he is the leader that our hardworking State Police team and the people of Massachusetts deserve,” she continued.
Mason retired in February of last year. Healey soon appointed John Mawn, Jr. to serve as interim colonel while officials conducted a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.
While announcing her selection of Noble, Healey also thanked Mawn for his work.
“He has earned the respect of his colleagues, and all who work with him, as well as the public, for his professionalism, his work ethic and his integrity,” she said. “He is a model for all of the men and women of the Massachusetts State Police and for the generations of troopers to follow.”
In her own statement, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said Noble stood out during the search process “as a candidate who has successfully navigated challenges during his 30-year career in law enforcement…”
“We look forward to the future of the Massachusetts State Police under his leadership,” Driscoll said.
Though he spent most of his career in New Jersey, Noble got his start in law enforcement working as a summer police officer for the Nantucket Police Department.
He moved to New Jersey in 1995 and rose through the state police ranks, serving as deputy superintendent for his final four years before he retired in 2022.
Now set to helm an organization that has been the subject of multiple controversies in recent years, Noble said he is honored by Healey’s decision.
“The hardworking men and women of the State Police show up every day to keep the people of Massachusetts safe,” he said. “[A]nd they deserve a leader who is accessible, transparent and committed to the highest standards of integrity and excellence.”
“That is the focus I will bring as Colonel,” he continued.
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