Say Hello
by Sue Bowron
photography by Mark Najjar
3651 Peachtree Parkway Suite 425 - Suwanee, GA 30024
As the clock ticked down the minutes on Saturday, April 26 and chimed at the midnight hour ushering in another day, the new Johns Creek Police Department (JCPD) took over law enforcement responsibility from Fulton County. The transition encompassed more than a figurative changing of the guard. It was a true passing of the old to the newly formed Johns Creek Police Department.
Out of 182 applicants and a two-month long process, Ed Densmore was selected to be Chief of the Johns Creek Police Department, responsible for the formation, transition and on-going operations. Previously, Chief Densmore had served the City of Alpharetta for fourteen years - first as a patrolman and then as Chief. A graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Criminal Justice, Chief Densmore went on to graduate from Command College at Columbus State College and the FBI National Academy Program. Chief Densmore started his career as a police officer in Decatur before his move to the Alpharetta Police Department.
Starting a new police department from the ground up was very appealing to Chief Densmore. "There weren't any 'we've always done it this way' comments," he says expanding his arms, "That just didn't exist." The Chief's goal was to bring on the most experienced and capable staff and, by using a combination of communication and visible presence, to partner the JCPD with the community. The result achieved is providing the citizens of the City of Johns Creek with a safe and orderly community. To accomplish this goal, Chief Densmore chose a diverse leadership staff to work with him and build the JCPD into a full staff of 56 law enforcement professionals.
Captain Brian Weaver joined the Department as Commander of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). He spent the past twenty six years of his career with the Fulton County Police, eleven of those years in the community that became the City of Johns Creek. Starting his career in Fulton County in 1982, Captain Weaver worked through the ranks until he was Commander in the Major Case Division, S.W.A.T. (Special Weapons and Tactics), Special Operations, and Narcotics. A graduate of the University of Georgia with a B.A. in Political Science, Captain Weaver had a clear vision of how to shape the new JCPD. "The community and businesses have been waiting to have their own police department that is receptive and responsive to the needs of their community," the Captain says, "Fulton County did a good job, but they did not have the resources we have. They had to be focused on the entire County; we will concentrate on Johns Creek. Because of that, we can do a better job." Stemming from his desire to make the JCPD a superior and responsive police force, personnel were hired from diverse backgrounds. "We hired people from all different agencies," Captain Weaver explains, "We wanted the best, who would use all their experience, knowledge and training to serve the City of Johns Creek. We drew from all areas of expertise to make the JCPD the best."
Serving as Commander of Support Services, Major John Clifton oversees Community Policing, Training and Records Management. Major Clifton most recently served as the Chief of Police for Forsyth, Georgia. Starting his law enforcement career in 1993, Major Clifton was a uniformed officer for the Rockdale County Sheriff's Office. He advanced to S.W.A.T. Investigator and later became Deputy Sheriff. For two years, he worked as a Special Agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, assisting in more than 300 drug-related arrests. "We want to be a progressive, top-of-the-line police department that other departments will want to look at as an example of what they want to be like. We want to set a standard above any other," Major Clifton declares. "We've hired top-notch officers and the community is seeing a lot more police cars than before; this presence of experienced officers will reduce crime in the area."
Major Clifton commends the Mayor, the City Council and the City Manager for their leadership in making the formation of the JCPD such a smooth process. "We will impact the community greatly," he says, "The citizens wanted the police department; they voted to have the police department; and we will serve them as their police department. We will give them top-of-the-line service. We are the police department of the citizens of Johns Creek!"
Major Curt Harrell, Commander of Uniform Patrol and Traffic Operations, requires officers to have exceptional communication skills, a professional demeanor, and law enforcement education, training and experience. As former Precinct Commander of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, Major Harrell was also a member of the S.W.A.T. team and lead instructor of high liability subjects. He is a graduate of the Georgia Law Enforcement Professional Management Program and the FBI National Academy. "We want to provide a personable, approachable and professional organization to the citizens," Major Harrell describes. Three or four officers are assigned to a geographic zone in which their mission includes becoming familiar with the neighborhoods and businesses. They manage "by walking around" and getting out of the patrol car to meet people. In addition to car patrols, JCPD officers also plan to use canine and bike patrols in their daily rounds.
The JCPD believes that by building relationships with citizens and knowing them by name; a powerful partnership can form. Major Harrell understands the importance of relationships in a successful organization. Before entering law enforcement, he was a Georgia public school teacher for six years with Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Education from Troy State University and a Masters in Public Administration from Columbus State University. This combination of education and professional experience gives Major Harrell a vision for creating a team of proactive community-focused officers to patrol neighborhoods and businesses. "We want the citizens to be pleasantly surprised with the high visibility of uniformed officers," Major Harrell explains, "We want the citizens of Johns Creek to be proud of their police department."
As a communications tool, each officer has their own trading card, similar to a baseball card, with their picture, rank, contact information, hobbies and interests, and a favorite quote or personal message. "Kids love these," Chief Densmore says, "They collect them. And it helps people put a name with the face of their local police officer." The Chief is striving for a small town feel to his police force. "I want people to know that the police are their friends. It's okay to call on us," he adds.
Chief Densmore is also avid about his force being involved in the community. The JCPD formed PACT (Police and Citizens Together) so that officers can serve as a liaison between homeowners and the police department. Zone officers are scheduled to attend homeowners' association meetings. The belief is that, since the officers are permanently assigned to their zones, residents are more likely to report a crime to someone they know.
The JCPD partners with kids' sports programs as an opportunity to provide a positive role model and mentor young people. They firmly believe in instilling respect for police officers by setting good examples and being approachable. Major Harrell smiles as he recollects a recent incident. "We were looking for a new home in Johns Creek, and I was driving slowly through a subdivision looking at houses. I noticed that a school bus had stayed at the stop longer than usual. I approached the corner where the school bus was and spoke to the mothers who were gathered there while waiting for their children. I introduced myself as a new Johns Creek police officer. They looked at each other and laughed. The bus driver had noticed me driving slowly through the neighborhood and she had asked the women to try and get my tag number, because she thought I looked suspicious," he chuckles shaking his head, "With that kind of attitude of looking out for each other, we'll all be alright."
As officers get to know the pattern of how the people in their zone conduct their lives and businesses, they become aware of anything out of the ordinary. They look for a disruption in patterns. This in-depth local knowledge helps officers track trends in crime analysis and find solutions. Since officers know their zone better than anyone else, the JCPD relies on them to find solutions to recurring problems. "We let the officers, who are doing their job in their geographic zone, come up with the solutions to solve problems in their assigned neighborhoods," the Chief says, "My job is to provide them with the support to do their job."
The JCPD concentrates on small crimes to keep them from spreading into larger offenses. "The devil is in the details," the Chief declares. They encourage neighbors to keep an eye out for each other and call their police officer if something is suspicious. "As an example," Chief Densmore explains, "If a neighbor or officer notices gang graffiti, we record it and remove it. We build evidence on these events and erase territorial gang markings reducing their influence in the community."
Major Harrell has had the responsibility of creating new operational processes and procedures. Everything is new including: forms, uniforms, badges, IDs, patrol cars and even the furniture. The leadership of Johns Creek had the foresight to negotiate the use of three detention facilities in the City of Doraville and in Fulton and Irwin Counties. By doing this, the City leaders have saved taxpayers the expense of constructing jail holding facilities.
The leadership of the Johns Creek Police Department has a passion for their work and the city they serve. "The police are here for them." Major Harrell adds, "We have one opportunity to earn our reputation, and we need to do that right out of the box. Everyone needs to know that they have a positive police department working for them." Chief Densmore affirms, "My biggest aspiration for this department is to earn the respect and confidence of the community. I want to let them know that we are open, honest and want to form a partnership with the citizens of Johns Creek."
The Johns Creek Police Department is here to protect, to serve and to be an integral part of the City of Johns Creek. Be sure to get to know them because they want to know you. It's easy to get started; just say hello.
