New Assistant Police Chief has big neighborhood plans

Newly named Assistant Police Chief Jared Wallace sits down with 25 News to speak about his new position and the plans he has for Waco neighborhoods — he wants to connect the community and law enforcement so communication is strong and everyone feels comfortable with one another when needing to speak up and tell police when something is wrong.

Wallace has been with the police department since 1991. In his 33 year career, he's looking forward to the challenges this position presents and continuing to strive to make Waco a better place for all.

BROADCAST SCRIPT:

It’s a new era within Waco PD.

“I had hopes but I truly did not expect it,” said Assistant Chief Jared Wallace.

Newly named Assistant Police Chief Jared Wallace has been with the force since 1991, sharing that this new title is a long time coming.

“I began as a patrol officer on the evenings and then the night shift, worked at patrol as a beat officer in south Waco and west Waco, I transferred to the neighborhood bike unit, from there I transferred to SWAT, at that time we had a full time SWAT team, until I transferred to our neighborhood policing unit, from there I promoted to sergeant in 1999,” said Assistant Chief Wallace.

With 33 years of work put in, he’s ready for what’s ahead.

“It’s much more of a planning and development position with the current and future challenges that are put in place here in Waco and try to put us in a strong position to effectively serve our community,” said Assistant Chief Wallace.

Serving the community — assuring our neighbors feel secure when police is around.

“There’s only about 400 of us at Waco PD, sworn and civilian, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to our population. We need everyone in Waco working together, we have to have those relationships, we have to build those relationships so that the community is comfortable communicating with the police and informing us what’s taking place and who done it," Wallace said.

With two main crime trends rising in the area —

“Youth crime, particularly violent crime involving youth,” Wallace said.

And something new they’re navigating —

“Police response to behavioral health issues and the challenges we face there. Not only from a policing perspective, but a community perspective as well,” Wallace said.

His main goal with this new title —

“Creating a culture at Waco PD we are comfortable with what’s happening in our profession and we’re at the forefront of being part of that change, that’s something I look forward to doing,” Wallace said.