BPD Chief Johnson speaks at Rotary Club

BPD Chief Johnson speaks at Rotary Club News Staff Tue, 06/04/2024 - 5:06 pm Breckenridge Police Chief Blake Johnson speaks last month to the Rotary Club of Breckenridge. Photo/Mike Williams By Mike Williams news@breckenridgeamerican.com Hitting the ground running, Breckenridge Police Chief Blake Johnson has attempted to be a face in the community in the last month. Recently, he spoke to the Rotary Club of Breckenridge to help introduce himself to the community and express his goals for the department. Johnson told members during the club’s Tuesday, May 14 meeting that he understands that he’s a new face in town and has a lot of work to do to earn the community’s trust. One of the big issues in the community that the police chief said he is working to address is animal control. “I have an extensive amount of work with animal control. I understand that has been a big issue here,” Johnson said. “I walked right into the flamethrower because I didn’t realize how much (of an issue) it is. That is one of the things I do assess is a problem.” Code enforcement is a second issue the new police chief is tackling. It’s an issue he believes appears to be small on the surface, but handling code enforcement can prevent bigger problems later. Johnson said if the community takes care of the small things and beautifies the city into something easy to be proud of, it will reduce crime. “Code enforcement is one of those programs that is important to us,” Johnson said. “If you keep your neighborhood looking good, the people feel good about it. Not only that, it also brings up property value.” Johnson said a good working relationship with the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office is important for both entities. Stephens County Sheriff Kevin Roach had the opportunity to meet Johnson prior to his hiring as a member of the committee tasked with interviewing police chief applicants.  The new police chief said he and Roach see eye-to-eye on several issues, including animal control. The relationship is important, Johnson said, because Breckenridge is the only incorporated city in Stephens County so it is important for both entities to be a resource for each other. BPD has faced staffing issues for several years and that is a problem Johnson is working on. He said he currently has two officers in the police academy and was preparing to bring a new officer into the department. When the new officer is hired, BPD will be short one officer. The department has been short-staffed since 2016. Johnson said he is guiding the entire department to take a customer service approach to policing, beginning with dispatch. Officers typically interact with community members in bad times of their life and the chief said taking a professional approach is important. “Professionalism is something that we’re continuing to go into,” he said. “Dispatch is typically the people you call first, the tip of the spear I call them, you need to feel like we value what you’re calling us for. I’ve been working a lot with dispatch right now and talking to them to be more concerned with (the calls).” This change, the chief said, will help improve relations between the department and the community. “Being just, being fair and …to do it mercifully,” Johnson said. “We treat people like we want to be treated.” News Log in to post comments