A consultant told the Tisbury selectmen this week that the town police force has made progress under the leadership of interim police chief Daniel Hanavan, who took over following the sudden departure of chief John Cashin last May.

“Dan has done a terrific job as acting chief. His heart is in it. He has made some tough decisions. He cares about the officers and he cares about the town, and I am quite impressed with the transition,” said Robert Wasserman, who has served as a consultant to police forces here and in other countries.

But Mr. Wasserman, who in a 2001 report to the town found the police department “dysfunctional at best,” also said this week that there are lingering problems that appear to go back to before Chief Cashin took over the department in 2007.

“There still are internal tensions regarding personalities between some members of the department. There is also a sense among some officers that oversight and supervision means that management is out to get them fired. But very clearly from all that Dan [Hanavan] has said and done, his objective is to simply change some behaviors and not fire officers,” he said.

Mr. Wasserman said there is still a “tit-for-tat” mentality among some officers regarding discipline.

“If an officer gets a discipline, some will say, ‘Well how about him or her, why didn’t they get this or that [punishment]? So there has been a reaction to tightened guidance and oversight, and that will likely continue as time goes on, I am sure,” he said.

Mr. Wasserman said there is also a split among some officers about the department’s policing style.

“There is a style of policing that I think this community expects here, that is not the same in other towns or even urban areas. Most of the officers are very skilled at that, and sensitive to it. But some officers prefer a more aggressive policing style that really does not fit into what this town is expecting,” he said.

But overall Mr. Wasserman was more positive than negative. He said Mr. Hanavan has reorganized the property room, which was in disarray, and improved internal communication within the department. Mr. Hanavan holds meetings at least twice a month with his sergeants, he said, and has monthly meetings with all the sergeants and patrol officers.

“So the issues get talked about. Previously this had not been going on. Now there is regular communication,” Mr. Wasserman said. “There is a defined chain of command, which formerly was absent. Every police officer is assigned to one of three sergeants, and they know they are to go to these sergeants if they have issues and not straight to the chief.”

He said Mr. Hanavan has increased the number of walking patrols around town, and implemented a number of new policies, including on sexual harassment and driving police vehicles out of town.

“There is generally a pretty high quality response to citizen complaints and calls for service, and quite a good response to criminal incidents. Actually the department handles those investigations quite well,” Mr. Wasserman said.

He said he will prepare a detailed report in the coming weeks. “I will be very specific about the remaining issues in the department that need to be addressed. Sort of a guide of where we need to go in the next few months,” he said.

The selectmen had no questions or comment.

Mr. Hanavan is a 19-year member of the force, and was appointed interim chief through October of last year. Mr. Cashin stepped down from his position in May amid vocal claims that his department was dysfunctional and selectmen had undermined his authority.

Mr. Wasserman said as part of his review, he did explore the possibility of merging some or all of the Tisbury police department with Oak Bluffs. Mr. Wasserman said he will offer his thoughts on that subject later.

In other business Tuesday, selectmen held a public hearing on an amendment to town shellfish regulations that would prohibit quahaug dredging in Lake Tashmoo and Lagoon Pond. Acting shellfish constable Hillary Conklin said the shellfish advisory committee recently approved the proposed amendment in order to protect marine life and plants.

Two commercial fisherman, Tom Searle and Jason Robinson, said they are the only two people in town who have the equipment to skip-dredge, and requested that they be allowed to dredge for quahaugs in the northwest corner of Tashmoo for a trial period through March.

Mr. Searle said the water in that area is seven to 12 feet deep, too deep for raking quahaugs. “I want to be able to keep going, and not have the lull between December and May when the spring harvest starts. I need something to keep me going,” he said.

In the end selectmen told Mr. Conklin and Mr. Searle they could continue to dredge in Lake Tashmoo because there are no regulations to prevent them from doing so, and asked the shellfish committee to work on more detailed guidelines that establish boundaries for dredging and a revised process for issuing permits. The issue will be discussed at a future meeting.