By Marty Sauerzopf, The Arizona Republic
Avondale, Ariz. - Three weeks ago, Kevin Kotsur took over a Police Department that had just been ripped by an audit that found evidence of poor communication, sagging morale and a general sense among the ranks of lax leadership.
But the new police chief took the critical audit as a road map for rebuilding trust in the department, both among the employees and the public. He says he wants to empower more employees to take a bigger role in building a successful department that is coping with major growing pains.
“I’ve got a group of people who are very qualified,” Kotsur said Thursday. “I need to get them involved to help me. I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen so far.”
And he has definite plans about what he wants to do to improve the department’s image and spread the word about its successes. He’ll be having a “Meet the Chief” event Saturday morning to talk with citizens.
When he arrived Feb. 17, Kotsur quickly did a survey of employees to learn more about their concerns. He hopes to hire a full-time public information officer to improve communications not only within the department but with the community.
“I want to help market what we do here,” Kotsur said.
He pointed to Thursday’s arrest of a suspect in burglaries at five schools as the type of news he wants to spread to spotlight the high-quality investigations and detective work that are carried out every day.
Kotsur said he also wants to streamline certain programs and reassign certain tasks to ensure that patrol officers’ time is being spent where it should be: in Avondale neighborhoods.
The Avondale Police Department, with 98 employees, including 72 sworn officers, is about to experience a growth spurt, thanks to last year’s passage of a half-cent sales tax for public safety.
Managing such growth is a new experience for Kotsur, who spent the past 21 years with the Tempe Police Department. But he said he’s excited about the challenge and looks forward to getting out into the community. At the same time, he recognizes the need to focus on improving things internally.