Published: July 03, 2009 08:24 pm      

Godley police hope to improve perceptions

Officers reaching out to public

GODLEY — Godley Police Chief James Healy describes his office as a new department with a new attitude.

“We’re doing some things to let residents know we’re trying very hard to make a difference,” Healy said. “We’re reaching out with the goal of doing more community oriented policing.”

Godley officers fully intend to continue to ticket and arrest the deserving, Healy said, but they also hope to work better with the community and improve perceptions of the department.

After extensive law-enforcement experience in other departments, Healy came to Godley in October.

He replaced former Chief Acy McGhee, who served with the department for 22 years.

Healy said the city hired him after McGhee suggested hiring a full-time person to run the department.

Healy commends McGhee’s service but said that for financial and other reasons the department could not always keep up with the growing needs of the town in the past.

“As the city grew, you had one full-time officer and a couple of reserves,” Healy said. “Due to lack of supervision and funding there were periods where officers were not properly trained. I feel for the citizens of this community because I’ve heard some of the horror stories of the past. Which is not to place blame, just to say the department didn’t always have the support and training in the past.”

Godley, like many small towns, has problems hiring and retaining quality officers, Healy said.

“Godley’s what’s known as a training department,” Healy said. “People come here for experience then go to bigger departments for more pay and benefits, more excitement.”

Healy’s solution has been to seek out officers with experience who have done their time in the larger departments, or who left law enforcement for a time, and are looking for something a bit quieter and slower paced.

“The hiring process has also been updated with full background checks and drug screens,” Healy said. “There’s also a hiring review team made up of police and city personnel.”

The department personnel is almost entirely new since Healy took over, he said.

“From the feedback I’ve received personally from officers and citizens is that they’ve noticed a dramatic change in officer presence, appearance, actions and behavior,” Healy said. “We have all our officers in class A [standard police] uniforms now, which makes a big difference appearance and presence wise.”

City council support and sales-tax revenues have also made a dramatic difference providing for more officers and equipment upgrades, Healy said.

The department employs 10 officers, six of whom are full time, Healy said, which allows for a police presence 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Grants in the works will provide for another officer and additional equipment soon, Healy said.

Equipment already purchased or coming up includes better laptops for patrol cars, handheld radar, thermal-imaging cameras and other equipment, Healy said.

The end result is more officers on the street, something Healy said has made a huge difference.

“Since I took over, we’ve had increased traffic enforcement,” Healy said. “Not necessarily to write more tickets, though we certainly do that when it needs to be. But the big thing is the presence, which lets people know we’re here and they can’t just blow through town anymore.

“We used to have 15-17 accidents a month. That’s been down to four or five the last few months, only one in June. Thefts and break-ins weren’t that many to begin with, but they’re down too. We used to issue several juvenile curfew violations each month. Those have gone down. And I credit that to our officers, who are doing a great job, and their high visibility.”

Healy laughed remembering a driver who on seeing two Godley officers in town sped up once out of sight only to be met by a third officer heading back into town.

The department is also reaching out in other ways in attempt to become an integral part of the community, Healy said.

“We recently did a school presentation on gun safety for the pre-K to second grade students,” Healy said. “We’ve ordered some stickers, lollipops, pencils, things like that to hand out to kids and citizens to let them know we’re here.”

Department officers have also taken part in civic events and will continue to do so, Healy said. Other programs in the works include a property ID program that allows residents to borrow an engraver and digital camera to mark and record their valuables and the formation of neighborhood watch programs, Healy said.

Another involves registration of dogs within city limits, which is required by city ordinance, and is free.

“A lot depends on the citizen’s response,” Healy said. “We want them to know they should expect a difference, but perception is reality. And if they perceive us as the same old department, we can’t change that. But if they give us the chance to prove ourselves, we can.”

One point Healy stressed is that residents should call 911 in emergency situations or the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office dispatch in nonemergency situations, not the Godley Police Department.

“Chances are they’ll get the message machine and not get a call back for three or four hours if they call here,” Healy said. “That’s because our officers are out and about patrolling and talking to citizens and business owners getting to know people.”

He said the goal is to be proactive and better serve the community by getting to know residents and collecting emergency numbers and other information when possible.

“Because we’re a smaller city we have the luxury of talking to people and being able to have that information on hand, addresses, names, emergency contacts,” Healy said. “We’d rather be proactive where if, say, we catch a suspect breaking into your house, we can contact you now instead of you getting home and being surprised at 5 or 6 p.m.”