Our Great City

Chief Robert Finn

First I would like to apologize for the delay in updating this posting. We have been quite busy moving into our new facility at 600 State Street so it has been difficult to find time to write.

The City recently completed a survey of citizens to find out what is important to them regarding the services we provide. I was very excited to see that 86% are satisfied with the overall quality of service being provided by Police Services, but also recognize that there is room to improve. I wanted to let you know that we have heard you and look forward to working hard to exceed your expectations in the coming months.

Some areas that we will be working on are:

• Becoming a more community friendly police agency. We are focusing on ethical policing and leadership of the officers sworn to protect you and your family.
• Working to address the issue of drugs in the community. Please get involved with SPARK so we can learn about your concerns during these very informative meetings.
• Increasing neighborhood patrols to prevent crime.
• We will also be working on the traffic issue raised in neighborhoods (speeding, stop signs etc.) while we are patrolling these areas.
• Addressing the issues of traffic congestion and assisting when needed
• Addressing the traffic violations in town square and working to improve the quality of life concerns raised about the unsupervised youth congregating in the area.
• Improving our crime prevention efforts to educate the community on how to prevent becoming victims of crime.
• Increasing enforcement efforts during active school zones.

Speeding received very mixed reviews. Many expressed concerns about too much speeding, while others thought we are writing too many tickets. Rest assured that we will continue to enforce the traffic laws to keep the streets safe in the community, but will focus patrol officer efforts in the neighborhoods while actively patrolling and traffic officers will focus on the main roads in town. Hopefully this will serve as the balance the community is looking for.

The red light cameras were also a point of a lot of comments. It is important to note that running red lights received the third largest % of votes as a major safety problem in town behind speeding in residential neighborhoods and speeding on major thoroughfares. We use the red light camera program to prevent the running of red lights as it would not be possible to position an officer at every intersection to enforce this community concern. The largest violation we see is the turning of right on red without coming to a complete stop. If you would stop before turning right on red you will not receive a violation notice.

We strive to be a world class police agency and will work hard to both earn and keep your trust as members of the community we serve. If you have any concerns or would like to discuss ideas about how we can better serve your needs, please call my office and I would be happy to meet with you. I expect the officers of this agency to live our core values: Integrity, Innovation, Accountability, Commitment to Excellence, and Teamwork. When making their decisions they are empowered to do what is right for you, our customers, by ensuring they are applying laws fairly, being ethical, and making decisions they will stand behind. I can be reached by calling 817-748-8114.

If you would like to review the results of the survey please visit: http://www.cityofsouthlake.com