We wish new KC Police Chief Stacey Graves the best. Her department needs a lot of work

Thursday, the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners appointed Maj. Stacey Graves as the new chief of police.

She is the first woman in Kansas City history to lead the police department. (Two others have served as interim chiefs.) That’s an important step, and we congratulate her for the achievement.

“I’m confident in my ability in continuing to advance the Kansas City, Missouri, police department as a progressive law enforcement agency and trusted community partner,” she said after the decision.

The choice is, of course, absolutely no surprise. The police board, despite protestations to the contrary, conducted a sham search for other candidates — and found exactly the flawed alternatives they sought. Kansas City hasn’t had a chief hired from outside the department in decades, and Graves’ hiring continues that pattern.

This isn’t her fault. A tainted selection process should not damage the new chief’s reputation, or her ability to do her job. Instead, blame the Police Board, whose tone-deafness and disregard for community concerns continues unabated.

At the same time, Graves inherits a police department in serious need of improvement and reform. She must tackle several concerns at once.

The top priority must be restoring trust between the department and the community it serves. Graves must discard the us-against-them mentality that former Chief Rick Smith encouraged during his time in office.

This won’t be easy. Changing a police department’s culture never is. But Kansas City has no hope of reducing its scandalously high murder rate unless and until the broader community believes the department is acting in its interests, not the department’s alone.

Allegations that the department improperly hid exculpatory evidence must be fully investigated. The practice, if it exists, must be stopped — and those responsible fired from the department.

Millions of dollars in police brutality settlements must come to an end as well. The department should recommit itself to serving the public, not attacking it. And Graves must insist that the department’s bad apples — clearly known to others in the ranks — be removed from service.

We continue to believe the Office of Community Complaints, which investigates allegations of abuse, is ineffective. It’s attached to the department, not the public. Graves could go a long way toward restoring the trust of the community if she revamps the citizen complaint process.

She must also find a way to find a way to hire more officers. Under current projections, the city will have almost exactly the same number of uniformed officers as it did a year ago, despite the infusion of $4 million in the police budget in March to hire more officers.

Difficulties in recruitment and retention are not unique to the Kansas City police force. Other cities and counties throughout the region report similar problems hiring new officers.

Money is clearly an issue. Kansas City is considering a $13 million program to provide retention and sign-up bonuses for officers. If higher salaries would make it easier to recruit new officers, the board and the state legislature should consider them.

The department will have plenty of money. Because of the ill-conceived actions of state lawmakers and Missouri voters, Kansas Citians will be required to boost their general spending on the department, from 20% to 25%. Department poverty is not an issue.

Discrimination could be. The Justice Department is investigating claims the police are racially biased in their hiring and promotion practices. That investigation must be taken seriously, and steps taken to address the problem if one is found.

But we believe recruitment problems aren’t limited to salaries and work conditions. Despite the hard work and good faith work of hundreds of uniformed officers in Kansas City, the department’s reputation has been hammered by bad leadership and bad decisions. That’s a tragedy, and it makes it harder to hire people.

Chief Graves has a lot on her plate. Progress will not come easily, or quickly. We wish her every success, because the future of our city depends on it.