Q & A with Crestview Police Chief Stephen McCosker

CRESTVIEW — In his first three months on the job, new Crestview Police Chief Stephen McCosker has worked to change the stigma surrounding the police department.

McCosker recently answered questions about his new role since starting on Sept. 3.

Question: What has been the biggest adjustment you have had to make since switching from your previous position to chief of the Crestview Police Department?

Answer: The biggest adjustment for me was having to learn who all the members of the community and other criminal justice agency representatives are. In my past job, I knew who to reach out to in order to accomplish certain goals. I spent most of my first month and a half in Crestview meeting with community members, civic organizations, churches and other law enforcement agencies. I still need to get out to the local colleges in order to build on our partnerships.

Q: Are there any short-term goals that you set when you began that have already been accomplished? If so what are they and how were they accomplished?

A: One of the first goals I set out to accomplish was to build a stronger recruiting base. We have been working hard on creating a long-term recruitment strategy and I am pleased with the progress we have made. We have submitted our application to have the Crestview Police Department certified as a Montgomery GI Bill on-the-job training site.

We have also just closed our first job posting contract for the basic law enforcement cadet contract position. This cadet opportunity was designed to draw from people who meet one of four categories: 1) veteran, 2) four-year college degree, 3) bi-lingual 4) person who fulfills an area of under-representation in the city of Crestview Police Department. We had a great response to this opportunity and look forward to the selection process.

Q: You have been very outspoken about crime reduction and community engagement. What are some ways you have seen improvement in those areas since you began?

A: During the past three months the Police Department has worked with the city of Crestview Code Enforcement to address some long-standing community issues. Together we have been able to clean up a street corner that was becoming known for crime and was definitely giving those who passed the perception of crime. After several meetings with the property owners we were able to start addressing the concerns and improve the overall look and feel of the area. We will continue to work to make sure this keeps moving forward.

We have greatly increased our social media footprint. Through the use of social media we were able to engage the community and solve a violent crime very quickly. It was through providing the community with the information of what had happened and who we were looking for that we were able to receive a tip on the location of the people involved and make a quick arrest. To be specific, our Facebook post about the crime and suspects received over 300 shares and was viewed 35,000 times. This directly contributed to the apprehension.

Q: Talk about the violent crime rate in the wake of recent shootings. Should citizens be alarmed? How do you plan to address this problem?

A: The city of Crestview works with other law enforcement agencies and participates in task forces to address various crimes in and around the area. These relationships have produced several arrests and warrants of people who have been committing crimes, especially violent crimes. We have also just been approved to purchase a crime predictive software, which will allow us to more accurately focus our patrol efforts.

I would not say citizens need to be alarmed. However, everyone, no matter if they are in Crestview or elsewhere in the world, needs to be aware of their surroundings and take every effort to decrease the opportunity for someone to commit a crime.

Q: What have you enjoyed most so far about being the Crestview police chief?

A: Since moving here, my family and I have really enjoyed the community and different events held around the city. Work-wise, I have been very proud of the officers and their enthusiasm and desire to serve the citizens of Crestview. I have had the honor of issuing two Life Saving Awards, participate in several community events and work with the team to address some specific community issues.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Q & A with Crestview Police Chief Stephen McCosker