FORT VALLEY, Ga. — Fort Valley Police Chief DJ Flores has spent the last six months learning the ropes of his role. Council members swore him into office in June.
He says his first act of duty is keeping the public safe.
"A lot of the community residents, they just want trust and that type of trust is communication, effective communication, right?" Flores said. "They want us to follow up, follow through with whatever incidents they may be encountering or experiencing during that time."
Since he's started, he said violent crime rates have dropped; he was not able to provide the exact number, but talked about the success of a substation at the Lakeview Apartment complex office. It's been the scene of three shootings this summer.
"They spend a lot more time with the residents out there to show them that, 'Hey, we're here for you,'" Flores said. "We're here to keep you safe."
He says active police presence is a part of his missing, adding he created a new project called "CAT," - or the community action team.
"We have community liaisons within that division uh that are gonna be meeting periodically with neighborhoods with stakeholders, business and residential communities to understand what needs do they have within their respective uh sections of the city," he said.
He said with new faces on the way, Flores says the force is continuing to add experienced officers. Detective Brad Hays is one of them, he previously worked with Wilkinson County Sheriff's Office.
"The morale, that's what brought me," Hays said. "I came here one day to speak with chief about getting back into policing and the morale here is very high."
Though the job challenges, he said he challenges his team to find the positive.
"I understand that we do have challenges but how can we make it positive?" Flores said. "Those are things that I challenge my staff to every day."
Along with the preparing the community action team, he hopes his team will become an accredited agency. Flores said he's focusing on staffing his street patrol division. Once that hiring is complete, they'll piece together the 'CAT" team.