Martha’s Vineyard’s six towns would make large cost savings and enjoy a better standard of policing, if they agreed to a merge their six police departments into a single force, a consultant’s report has found.

The report was prepared by Robert Wasserman, a part-time Island resident who has done similar work for some of the largest police services in America and overseas. It was commissioned by the Tisbury selectmen, who initially wanted an analysis of the problems within their own poorly functioning police department.

The Wasserman review was subsequently expanded to look at the prospects of merging the Tisbury and Oak Bluffs forces, something which Wasserman also strongly recommended.

But he went further, suggesting all the Island towns should form a joint committee to work toward a single force.

“From a practical sense, given the increased share of town budgets that policing represents, it is clear that the merger of the departments Island-wide makes economic sense,” the report said, although it also acknowledged “strong anti-merger sentiments” among many selectmen, who wanted to maintain their control.

A merged agency would allow resources to be shared during periods of peak demand, resulting in less overtime, and mean fewer officers would be needed for court duty, resulting in further cost savings.

“Numerous other functions could be combined at less cost, such as administrative, personnel, record-keeping, property custody and others,” the report said.

“For the Island as a whole it is not cost effective to have six independent police agencies, plus the state police.”

Perhaps more importantly, Mr. Wasserman said, it would make for better service to the community.

“Policing would be the same Islandwide: a commitment to professionalism, public engagement, visibility throughout the community, school interactive presence and skilled criminal investigation,” he wrote.

The major concerns about a merged force — responsiveness to local concerns and priorities, local recognition of officers, availability for town and community meetings, accountability issues — could “easily be addressed.”

He suggested a model under which each town would maintain some type of policy facility, but administration and some support activities could be commonly located, requiring less space in some towns. Each substation would have an officer in charge, focused on local concerns.

A merged department would work best under a board of police commissioners, appointed by each town’s board of selectmen or elected by the public. Some selectmen from each town could themselves serve as commissioners if that model was adopted, the report said.

The report did not go to staffing numbers, but there have long been criticisms that policing takes up too big a share of town budgets, and that the Vineyard is over-policed.

A Gazette analysis of police numbers on the Vineyard, conducted in August 2008, found there were 6.9 sworn police officers, including state police, per 1,000 year-round residents, more than three times the average for similar-sized communities across New England.

While the ratio for the summer season was harder determine — the number of Island residents increases more than four-fold in summer, and various towns employed varying numbers of officers seasonally — it probably then comes close to the average.

But for two-thirds of the year, the Vineyard has several times as many police as is normal in comparable communities.

The report said a merger between Oak Bluffs and Tisbury could serve as a pilot for a broader amalgamation.

Mr. Wasserman examined two options for Oak Bluffs and Tisbury: the “one chief, two departments” model and the “one department” model, and quickly rejected the former.

Simply having one chief for both towns would not make substantial cost savings, he found.

As to the second option, he noted that state law provides for an inter-municipal agreement, executed with majority approval of each board of selectmen.

He also pointed to the practical difficulties of a merger. For one, it would be more expensive, initially, for Tisbury, because Oak Bluffs pays its police a lot more. A starting officer gets just under $53,000 in Tisbury, but well over $59,000 in Oak Bluffs, a sergeant up to about $77,400 in Tisbury, but about $88,000 in Oak Bluffs.

There also are differences in vacation time, sick time, shift payments, insurance, benefits for education, and others.

Under the plan, the total number of police would remain the same, but overtime and other costs would be “substantially reduced.”

The report sets out a timetable, beginning with the appointment of Daniel Hanavan as police chief in Tisbury (which selectmen did last week), starting a joint committee between the two towns (which now is under way), starting discussions with the police union, and getting assistance from the state Department of Revenue, which steered a police merger between the towns of Ashby and Townsend.

It recommended that Dan Hanavan be made chief, on the understanding that he might not remain so should the departments merge. In that event, it said, he should become assistant chief or lieutenant, with responsibility for Tisbury policing.

It is understood the contract now being negotiated between the town and new Chief Hanavan contains those stipulations.

As for the state of the Tisbury police — the original reason for commissioning the report — Mr. Wasserman found significant improvement in the year since Mr. Hanavan began acting in the job.

His report began by noting the department had a “history of being a troubled police agency,” and pointed to several indicators, including the succession of chiefs over recent years, a discrimination complaint filed by a female officer alleging harassment, and political involvement by selectmen in internal police management issues.

It referred back to a previous investigation of the Tisbury force’s operations, done by Mr. Wasserman in 2001, which found the Tisbury police department to be “dysfunctional, at best.”

Things had “dramatically improved” since then, the new report found.

This improvement came of the back of reforms including regular meetings with the sergeants and other officers, a clearer chain of command, with each officer reporting to a designated sergeant, new policies addressing issues including harassment, pursuit and other issues, greater patrolling and increased traffic enforcement.

Mr. Wasserman found improved “equity of discipline,” with officers receiving verbal warning for a first minor offense, and written warnings if issues remain. He strongly approved the move to increased video surveillance in police vehicles.

“Acting Chief Hanavan has made substantial strides in addressing equality, fairness and equal access within the department,” he wrote.

But more still needs to be done

“It is essential that in future, all promotions be made after a transparent . . . process,” the report said, and advocated testing all applicants for promotion, in both oral and written form.

It also recommended six-month written performance reviews, in which sergeants evaluated officers, the chief evaluated the sergeants, and the selectmen evaluated the chief.

Recruitment also was found to be a problem. Past background checks on new officers had been weak.

Recruitment also had to better reflect ethnic and gender diversity. There should be written, psychological and physical evaluation of all new recruits.

The review particularly focused on the role of sergeants within the Tisbury force. They had to become more accessible and helpful to younger officers, it said.

“All sergeants — except for those who are nearing retirement — should regularly attend supervision and leadership schools to strengthen their supervisory and leadership skills,” it said.

More generally, the report noted that tensions still remained from unresolved historical issues, that some newer officers felt excluded by older ones, and traffic officers were “generally not fully supported by some members of the department.”

Some officers still needed to improve their interpersonal skills with the public and their colleagues, and more team building work had to be done.

“There still remains less than adequate collaboration between some members of the department,” the report said.

This was not just personal, but hampered the operation of policing.

Mr. Wasserman said officers must be required to pass on information about occurrences on their shift to the succeeding shift, and every shift should read the department log before going on duty.

He suggested a team-building exercise under the guidance of a professional coach, and said failure to attend should bring disciplinary action. And those who failed to attend staff meetings without valid excuse should be disciplined.

Some of his recommendations hinted at simple laziness on the part of some police.

For example, he said the force needed to improve its patrol strategy, including foot patrols downtown “regardless of whether officers want to engage in such activities.” And officers should be required to fill out a daily activity reports.

And, it said, regardless of the prospects of a future merger, the department needs to hire an additional officer to fill current shifts, which should result in a substantial reduction in overtime costs.