It was only a drill when the tactical response team swarmed the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School campus Thursday morning.

Edgartown police chief Bruce McNamee feels community policing is more than just getting to know the people in town.

Community policing on Martha’s Vineyard requires a special set of skills, four chiefs and the sheriff said during a Gazette discussion this week.

Edgartown police chief David Rossi is stepping down following a recent heart attack, becoming the third Island police chief to announce his departure in less than a month.

Police knew it was a drill. But when a 911 call reporting an active shooter inside the Edgartown School came in Saturday morning, the response was just like the real thing.

Tisbury police chief Daniel Hanavan is bracing for the thousands of cars and visitors that will disembark daily from ferries into Vineyard Haven streets this summer. Edgartown police chief Antone Bettencourt is taking special note of the rise of underage alcohol purchases, while his Oak Bluffs counterpart, Erik Blake, is getting ready for summer bar closings in his town full of bustling night spots.