I am honored to serve as your Chief of Police.

It is with great pride and appreciation that I can thank the men and women of your police department for providing our community with a 10.6% percent decrease in UCR Index Crimes from 2010. In years past, people often reflected on the fact that our crime rate was a bit high per 1000 people in comparison in other cities. That is not the case anymore. Since 2004, the City of San Angelo has seen a 36.8% decrease in crime and a 38.8% decrease in crime per 1000.

In 2004, when I first took office, I dreamed of cutting crime by 50% in our city. I always thought it was a dream. As we near almost 40%, 50% could become a reality. In a recent study, San Angelo was ranked the 17th safest city in the country in cities of less than 150,000 population. I see that number improving as we gain a better grasp of Sector Style Policing and Problem Oriented Policing and we gather more citizen assistance.

As I peer into 2012, I can see the obstacles before us. In 2012, as in every year prior, staffing will continue to be a primary focus. Finding people who not only have the heart and compassion for this job has become difficult but also finding applicants who can meet our minimum requirements is challenging as well. Though we received in increase in personnel from 159 to 165, primarily to handle the demands of our lakes and parks, we still have room to hire 11 more people while we have 16 in training. Those 16 will prove an asset when they hit the streets.

We will use the increase of personnel to not only handle the lakes, but to also increase our presence in the booming downtown area. While all the rookies will be assigned to patrol, we will see experienced officers placed in Narcotics, Downtown, Lake Patrol, and Community Services. All personnel will further our mission of improving the quality of life in our community through "partnering with the public".

Thank you for allowing me to serve you in the greatest job in San Angelo. I promise, I am not finished working for you, and neither are the great men and women of the San Angelo Police Department.