October 15, 2025 • 17 mins
Fort Myers is growing fast, but the story we’re telling is how safety keeps pace. Chief Jason Fields joins us to open the doors on FMPD’s past, present, and next chapter—why a small city can operate with big-city capability, how leadership changes set a new tempo, and what it takes to modernize without losing touch with the community. From early marshals and two patrol cars to a near fully staffed department supported by a skilled civilian backbone, we map the real systems behind steady crime reduction as population climbs.
We walk through the two pillars that guide our strategy: relentless crime fighting and genuine community engagement. That focus shows up in the details—fleet updates that cut costs and downtime while embracing the thin blue line identity, F-150 durability for K9 teams, and procurement choices that put more vehicles on the road faster. It shows up in the uniforms too: breathable materials and load-bearing outer vests built for Southwest Florida’s heat, helping officers work longer and safer with growing equipment demands. These aren’t cosmetic changes; they’re practical upgrades that boost readiness, comfort, and response.
The headline ahead is our future headquarters. Right now, units are scattered across substations and shared spaces. The new, state-of-the-art facility brings everyone together: expanded dispatch, evidence capacity, a modern gun range, protected vehicle storage, and a large community room designed for real public access. Unifying operations tightens communication, accelerates intel, and strengthens service citywide. Chief Fields shares a clear vision—stack small improvements into outsized gains and keep building a premier agency tailored to Fort Myers’ growth.
If you care about how policing evolves to meet a city’s needs—technology, talent, transparency, and trust—you’ll find substance here. Hit follow, share with a neighbor who loves Fort Myers, and tell us: what should we explore next?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to FMPD Roll Call, the official podcast of
the Fort Myers PoliceDepartment.
I'm Megan Fuentes, your publicinformation officer.
For our very first episode,we're joined by Chief Jason
Fields to talk about his visionfor the department and the
future of FMPD.
Let's get started.
Roll call begins now.
So obviously, as you can see, wehave come a an insanely long
(00:25):
way.
SPEAKER_01 (00:26):
Yes, the department has a long history in uh the
city of Fort Myers dating backto 1885.
I said that's uh if my math iscorrect, it's over about 150
years somewhere in thatballpark.
Or a little bit over, a littlebit under.
But yeah, the department's beenaround for a long time.
A lot of tradition, a lot ofhistory, dating back to, I
(00:47):
believe, from what I've beentold, some of the historical
data that we found was that uhit was originally patrolled by
marshals dating going all theway from Key West all the way up
through southwest Florida.
So uh obviously not a lot ofpeople around in that time.
So their jurisdiction wasawfully vast.
And uh as we've grown over theyears, we've got a little, you
(01:08):
could see a little substationdowntown Main Street leading us
up to our building that we'vebeen in, that we're in right
now, we've been in for the lastuh probably about 40-ish years.
And uh I don't want to spoilalert, but uh looking forward to
our next building.
SPEAKER_00 (01:22):
Aaron Powell What the future has in store
basically is where we're wherewe're headed.
How has this department evolved?
So obviously we saw we used tobe back in Main Street, and we
see, you know, we've been inthis building for 40 years.
So tell me how this departmenthas evolved over this time.
SPEAKER_01 (01:38):
So the department has evolved in probably just
about every area of policing asSouthwest Florida has grown.
Probably the biggest spike thatwe've seen is with just the last
few years, probably within thelast decade, there's the the
influx uh coming of SouthwestFlorida.
And we've been able to managethat growth and implement new
technologies, increase ourmanpower, everything that we
(02:01):
need to do to ensure a safecity.
SPEAKER_00 (02:04):
And with growth, obviously comes growth within
the department.
What makes FMPD unique?
SPEAKER_01 (02:09):
I think some of our uniqueness comes from we are a,
I like to say it or I've said itbefore, that we are a small
city, maybe in size, but as faras types of calls, incidents
that we respond to, type ofenvironment, the type of
neighborhoods, it's got a bigcity feel to it.
So we kind of get best of theboth worlds.
SPEAKER_00 (02:30):
Yeah, I definitely see that, especially when you go
downtown, you kind of have thatsmall downtown feel.
But then you see our bikeofficers and you see the
response times that Fort Myershas.
When there's a call, you'll seelike two, three patrol cars
because we have the capabilityof doing that.
And I think that's reallyimportant for our residents and
visitors.
SPEAKER_01 (02:49):
Aaron Powell Absolutely.
A city police department isgoing to give you that more of a
customized uh feel to it.
SPEAKER_00 (02:54):
So, Chief, you have been chief of Fort Myers Police
Department for two years.
And how long have you been withthe department?
SPEAKER_01 (03:00):
Uh I just hit my 25th year anniversary.
SPEAKER_00 (03:02):
Wow, congratulations, by the way.
That's a that's a really longcareer so far.
And how long do you see yourselfbeing chief?
SPEAKER_01 (03:09):
As long as I am capable of positively
contributing to the position andto the city and the department.
SPEAKER_00 (03:15):
Aaron Powell What has been some of your biggest
priorities since you becamechief two years ago?
SPEAKER_01 (03:20):
So initially, right out the gate, I had to
restructure, reorganize, andpretty much develop a whole new
command staff.
That was one of the biggestthings that I had to that I had
to tackle right off the batbecause the previous
administration had uh retired.
And fortunately, the untimelypassing and the tragic death of
uh Chief Diggs, who wasinstrumental in my leadership
(03:42):
journey as well.
So I'll just let a shout out tohim.
But uh yeah, a lot of thecommand staff was no longer
around, so I had to kind ofrebuild everything from scratch.
So that uh that absorbed most ofmy time in the in the beginning.
SPEAKER_00 (03:55):
Yeah, and I could see that because you came in and
then you had retirements, youhad no command staff at that
point.
SPEAKER_01 (04:03):
Nothing at that point.
So I just once I once I knew Iwas applying for the position, I
already started figuring out inmy mind, starting, you know,
jotting down some some roughdrafts of uh what a new
structure would look like, howbest to uh develop the
department to maximize itsefficiency and effectiveness,
and you know, kind of just uhtry and see that to fruition.
SPEAKER_00 (04:25):
Aaron Powell Some of the challenges you face so far
in these two years.
SPEAKER_01 (04:30):
I like I've said in some of my interviews that being
an internal candidate, I knew alot of the the challenges, the
strengths, the weaknesses, theareas to grow within the
department.
So I just wanted to make surethat I hit the ground running,
which I felt I did.
I did have a hundred-day plan inmind uh with the number of areas
I want to uh ensure thedepartment was off to a good
start and carry the momentumthat we had, a lot of the
(04:53):
positive momentum, and see some,make some changes that I felt
was necessary to move thedepartment forward.
SPEAKER_00 (04:59):
What are you most excited about and what are your
initiatives that you havealready put into place?
SPEAKER_01 (05:03):
In future episodes, we'll definitely get into the
fine details, but uh overall, II always relate it back to uh
some stuff that we are reallygood at here.
We are really good at two thingscrime fighting and our community
engagement, our communitypolicing.
And within those two areas,there's a host of, like I said,
minute details, different units,different strategies, different
(05:25):
tactics, the way we do stuff,the way we deploy our people.
So those are two areas I wantedto really focus on and you know,
audit, do we still want to dothis stuff, or uh how do we want
to improve it?
How can we make it better?
I'm always looking, you know,we've got like the FMPD 2.0 when
I took over, and my goal is tomake it FMPD 3.0.
How can we get that much betterand really modernize the agency?
SPEAKER_00 (05:47):
Now you talked about modernizing.
So let's go into whatmodernizing means, right?
So what do you mean when youtalk about modernizing?
SPEAKER_01 (05:59):
So initially with modernizing, we're always
talking about technology.
Uh we're talking aboutupgrading, updating, maybe some
uh some new looks to some stuff.
Uh I see you got some oldschool.
SPEAKER_00 (06:10):
Oh yeah, I had to bring it back old.
I had to bring it back.
So as you can see, we have comealso a long way, not just
because of our departmentbuilding and our staffing, but
also our cars.
So all the way back from 1950,we still had that black and
white look.
(06:31):
We went, it looks like a littlebit of blue in 1980, and then we
had a beetle.
SPEAKER_01 (06:38):
Is that Herbie the the Love Bug, right?
SPEAKER_00 (06:41):
That that looks what yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (06:43):
Not sure if everybody's gonna know that, but
Herbie the Love Bug.
SPEAKER_00 (06:45):
I think most people, well, maybe, who knows?
But yeah, and then we had aCrown Vex.
SPEAKER_01 (06:50):
Crown Vex, that was that was my vehicle for most of
my career.
I love those things.
Those are the tanks, they justthey really held up.
They held up really well.
SPEAKER_00 (06:58):
So now this is our car, or is it?
So, fun fact in 1938, the policedepartment only had two
vehicles.
SPEAKER_01 (07:07):
Two vehicles.
SPEAKER_00 (07:07):
So that showed our staffing back in 1938.
SPEAKER_01 (07:10):
Absolutely.
We've come a long way.
SPEAKER_00 (07:12):
And as you said, modernizing and new looks.
So, our new vehicles.
SPEAKER_01 (07:19):
There's our new design, yes.
I like it.
It we've had the black andwhites for when we're going
through and kind of coming upwith our designs.
The the black and whites we hadfor probably about close to 20
years or two decades.
So I felt there was a little bitof a change.
I like incorporating the thinblue line into our vehicles.
For those that don't know, thethin blue line is synonymous
(07:40):
with law enforcement, and thatthin blue line separates chaos
from the calm.
So that's us.
We hold that line right there.
So I think it's very importantfor everybody to know, and that
to be a significant designatorthat we are there to hold that
line.
SPEAKER_00 (07:55):
And for people who don't know, why did we change
the design and the color?
SPEAKER_01 (08:00):
The design and color was more of a refresh, like I
said, an updated design.
There is also a cost savingswith it.
We don't have to send thevehicles out for additional
painting.
So they come right off theassembly line, ready to go.
We can outfit it, we can getmore vehicles on the road that
much quicker.
And a little more durabilitywith those F-150s for the K9
units.
(08:20):
They are super sturdy, rugged,uh, especially with the canines,
because uh our canine unit doesa lot of uh a lot of groundwork
uh and they need thatdurability.
SPEAKER_00 (08:29):
Yeah, and I don't think people realize that our
black and whites actually had toget repainted in order for the
two-tone color.
So the new design is actuallyway more cost effective because
we don't have to do that.
SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
Correct.
Yeah, Ford didn't give us a uh ablack and white off the assembly
line.
It was either black or white,and we had to get it painted,
and that takes time.
So this is just once again alittle more efficient.
SPEAKER_00 (08:51):
Perfect.
And you didn't just modernizeour look for our cars, did you?
SPEAKER_01 (08:57):
No, no.
For many years, I have alwaysquestioned why we live in a
tropical environment.
We live in Southwest Florida.
Why don't we have morebreathable uh uniforms?
The one I'm wearing is thestandard one, worn for my entire
career.
Still wear it because I'm doingoffice work now.
But in the field, I think thethe men and women that are doing
(09:20):
the work on the road, answeringthe calls, they need to be as
comfortable as possible.
And if we can make a slightlittle change, like get in those
uniforms to a lot morebreathable, also take away the
the gun belt that you carryeverything on and kind of
distribute that load a littlebit, a little bit better between
an outer carrier vest and thegun belt.
(09:42):
It helps with, you know, maybesome back pain, a little more
accessibility, because let'sface it, as police has evolved,
we've gained more and moreequipment.
So we've got to be able to havethat real estate on our body to
carry all that.
So yeah, that was one of thefirst things I wanted to do is
change our uniforms.
And uh I I like the look.
We've got a lot of positivityfrom it.
I think people are happy, anduh, I'm glad I can make that
(10:04):
happen right away.
SPEAKER_00 (10:05):
The department definitely I I know the officers
for sure like it, especiallywith the load bearing on that
belt.
As you can tell, I mean, look ateverything they had to carry on
their belts.
So that definitely that outercarry vest was was a huge
difference for them.
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
No doubt.
SPEAKER_00 (10:20):
I have another fun fact for you.
SPEAKER_01 (10:22):
Where is it?
1947.
Police department was comprisedof one chief, lieutenant, two
sergeants, ten officers.
Wow, 1947, nice.
SPEAKER_00 (10:30):
Once again, tells you a lot about our staffing.
We had two cars, and then in 10more years after the two cars,
then we got one chief, onelieutenant, two sergeants, and
ten officers.
So we grew just that much morein just 10 years.
So how does FMPD look like interms of staffing, division, and
(10:54):
resources?
SPEAKER_01 (10:55):
So uh staffing right now, I'm happy to say that we
are close to being fully staffedand we are authorized for 263
officers.
And that's complemented by closeto 100 civilians.
And our civilian staff is goingto be dispatch, records clerks,
staff assistants, uh crimescene, evidence tech, and a host
of other supporting roles withinthe agency.
Then I can't give enough shoutouts to our civilian staff that
(11:18):
help us, even PIO, that help usuh and able to help us able to
do our jobs that much better onthe road.
SPEAKER_00 (11:25):
Yeah, I I think people don't realize that like
dispatch is also civilian.
When you walk into the policedepartment, you automatically
come into contact with therecords division, which is also
civilian.
So they their background, all ofthe stuff that they do helps the
police department just keepmoving.
So and especially helps theresidents, the public, because
(11:46):
those are the people that youcome into contact with almost
first as soon as you call, youhear dispatcher.
So I don't think people alsorealize that civilians do play
such an important role behindthe scenes.
SPEAKER_01 (11:58):
We are a very proactive agency and we generate
a lot of paperwork.
And as the tech world advances,we we create a lot of dashboards
and electronic paperwork.
So uh somebody has to manage allthat and and uh and and maintain
all that.
So shout out to the civilianstaff to helping our men and
women on the road.
SPEAKER_00 (12:17):
Absolutely.
Now, looking ahead to thefuture, what does the future
have in store, Chief?
SPEAKER_01 (12:24):
So the future is uh I'm gonna give a I'm gonna quote
the mayor for a second.
The the mayor, who's retiredpolice officer from us, mayor
Kevin Anderson, he says thefuture is so bright, you gotta
wear shades.
And he usually comes around withwith a pair of sunglasses.
So it is very bright for theFMPD, and uh, I'm happy to be
seeing that and be a part ofthat.
Uh, I have a tremendous uhsupportive command staff that is
(12:45):
helping facilitate us in allareas of the agency.
One specific thing is the futureheadquarters, which is just a
few blocks away from here, whichwe are super excited.
We cannot get into it soonenough.
It's gonna be state-of-the-art.
I don't know how many timesbigger than the agency, the
department we're in right now,because this building is
severely, uh we've severelyoutgrown this building.
(13:06):
So that's going to provide allof the resources we need.
We're incorporating a gun range.
We have a huge community room,so that much more uh involved
with the community to have themcome in.
We've got a nice area so we cando some outside press releases
and press statements.
We've got a full vehicle storagearea because let's face it, the
(13:28):
the weather down here is notreal friendly to vehicles.
So we're able to maintain ourvehicles and the lifespan of
them and keep them uh keep themon the road that much more, that
much longer.
So uh there's a there's a ton ofother stuff that's gonna go into
this.
The technology area, all theroom we need, say for like
evidence, growing dispatchcenters.
So it's just gonna give useverything for hopefully what
(13:48):
people have been saying is thenext uh I'll knock on wood, 50
years.
SPEAKER_00 (13:51):
Yeah, I mean 50 years would definitely take us
very far.
Yes.
I know obviously working here,we have multiple units in
multiple different locations.
They are not all in with withinthis building.
So what would that mean toofficers that will finally all
be together in one building?
SPEAKER_01 (14:09):
So right now we are very fragmented.
We are all over the place.
We got little mini substationsall over the place.
We're sharing buildings withother departments and stuff.
So this will bring everybodytogether, which only increases
our communication, ourcollaboration, all our crime
fighting efforts.
So it's just gonna help us outall around, which in turn then
puts a better product out thereor better service for the
(14:31):
community in the city.
SPEAKER_00 (14:32):
And where are we at in terms of the new building?
SPEAKER_01 (14:35):
Still in the final stages of planning, budgeting,
making sure we have everythingset before we break ground.
And hopefully the plan is to bebreaking ground beginning of
next year sometime.
SPEAKER_00 (14:48):
That's amazing.
SPEAKER_01 (14:48):
Yes.
unknown (14:49):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (14:50):
So beyond the new headquarters, what's your future
vision for the department?
SPEAKER_01 (14:55):
Future vision for the department is to I'm gonna
say we're really good, and Ijust want to get a little bit
better, a little bit better.
Just some some micro wins.
We've got a lot of new units,divisions on the horizon, which
we'll be talking about here inthe coming podcasts.
Let people know what we're doingto more, like I like going back
to that customized policedepartment, very customized
(15:18):
response.
As as the city evolves, as weget more growth down here, we
want to be able to provide thoseservices as best as we can.
So just a real top-notch premierlaw enforcement agency.
SPEAKER_00 (15:33):
Perfect.
Is there anything you would liketo add before I mean the end of
the our first episode?
Is there anything you would liketo include that I didn't about
where we're at and where we'regoing?
SPEAKER_01 (15:45):
I just want to obviously thank the the men and
women uh that come to work everysingle day, do a tremendous job.
Uh they stay motivated, theythey handle themselves with the
utmost professionalism.
And by doing that, we're seeingreductions in crime in certain
areas, if not most or all areas.
And as a as our population hasgrown, we're actually seeing
(16:07):
reductions in crime where mostmajor cities would see an
increase in population and anincrease in crime.
So for us to be doing thedecrease in crime with the ink
rates in population is just uhit's tremendous.
And it's a huge uh uh huge kudosto everybody that comes in every
single day and uh puts on theuniform, whatever uniform, and
uh and just comes into and workhard.
SPEAKER_00 (16:29):
I think that says a lot about our department.
It's the perseverance, it's theresilience.
And I mean, our staffing to beable to do that is incredible.
So in order to keep the success,we keep our staffing.
SPEAKER_01 (16:43):
Yeah, absolutely.
Anyone around here knows thatthey wear probably uh more than
one hat.
But I think that speaks to ourresilience and uh and how good
we are.
And I'm I'm happy to be here foruh I'm happy to have been here
for the last 25 and probablywon't make it another 25, but uh
as close as I can.
SPEAKER_00 (16:58):
Uh, I think you could do 25.
I've seen you run the bridge.
So I've seen you run with thoserecruits.
So I think you can definitelymake 25.
SPEAKER_01 (17:05):
Yep, they keep me young.
SPEAKER_00 (17:06):
So thank you so much for joining me.
Thank you so much for launchingFMPD Roll Call.
This is just the beginning.
So stay tuned for sure on thosenew units, the work that we do.
We're gonna dive deep.
We're gonna talk about newinitiatives, give you a
background look, and thank youfor joining us on FMPD Roll
(17:27):
Call.
SPEAKER_01 (17:27):
No problem.
Thank you.
Welcome to FMPD Roll Call, the official podcast of
the Fort Myers PoliceDepartment.
I'm Megan Fuentes, your publicinformation officer.
For our very first episode,we're joined by Chief Jason
Fields to talk about his visionfor the department and the
future of FMPD.
Let's get started.
Roll call begins now.
So obviously, as you can see, wehave come a an insanely long
(00:25):
way.
SPEAKER_01 (00:26):
Yes, the department has a long history in uh the
city of Fort Myers dating backto 1885.
I said that's uh if my math iscorrect, it's over about 150
years somewhere in thatballpark.
Or a little bit over, a littlebit under.
But yeah, the department's beenaround for a long time.
A lot of tradition, a lot ofhistory, dating back to, I
(00:47):
believe, from what I've beentold, some of the historical
data that we found was that uhit was originally patrolled by
marshals dating going all theway from Key West all the way up
through southwest Florida.
So uh obviously not a lot ofpeople around in that time.
So their jurisdiction wasawfully vast.
And uh as we've grown over theyears, we've got a little, you
(01:08):
could see a little substationdowntown Main Street leading us
up to our building that we'vebeen in, that we're in right
now, we've been in for the lastuh probably about 40-ish years.
And uh I don't want to spoilalert, but uh looking forward to
our next building.
SPEAKER_00 (01:22):
Aaron Powell What the future has in store
basically is where we're wherewe're headed.
How has this department evolved?
So obviously we saw we used tobe back in Main Street, and we
see, you know, we've been inthis building for 40 years.
So tell me how this departmenthas evolved over this time.
SPEAKER_01 (01:38):
So the department has evolved in probably just
about every area of policing asSouthwest Florida has grown.
Probably the biggest spike thatwe've seen is with just the last
few years, probably within thelast decade, there's the the
influx uh coming of SouthwestFlorida.
And we've been able to managethat growth and implement new
technologies, increase ourmanpower, everything that we
(02:01):
need to do to ensure a safecity.
SPEAKER_00 (02:04):
And with growth, obviously comes growth within
the department.
What makes FMPD unique?
SPEAKER_01 (02:09):
I think some of our uniqueness comes from we are a,
I like to say it or I've said itbefore, that we are a small
city, maybe in size, but as faras types of calls, incidents
that we respond to, type ofenvironment, the type of
neighborhoods, it's got a bigcity feel to it.
So we kind of get best of theboth worlds.
SPEAKER_00 (02:30):
Yeah, I definitely see that, especially when you go
downtown, you kind of have thatsmall downtown feel.
But then you see our bikeofficers and you see the
response times that Fort Myershas.
When there's a call, you'll seelike two, three patrol cars
because we have the capabilityof doing that.
And I think that's reallyimportant for our residents and
visitors.
SPEAKER_01 (02:49):
Aaron Powell Absolutely.
A city police department isgoing to give you that more of a
customized uh feel to it.
SPEAKER_00 (02:54):
So, Chief, you have been chief of Fort Myers Police
Department for two years.
And how long have you been withthe department?
SPEAKER_01 (03:00):
Uh I just hit my 25th year anniversary.
SPEAKER_00 (03:02):
Wow, congratulations, by the way.
That's a that's a really longcareer so far.
And how long do you see yourselfbeing chief?
SPEAKER_01 (03:09):
As long as I am capable of positively
contributing to the position andto the city and the department.
SPEAKER_00 (03:15):
Aaron Powell What has been some of your biggest
priorities since you becamechief two years ago?
SPEAKER_01 (03:20):
So initially, right out the gate, I had to
restructure, reorganize, andpretty much develop a whole new
command staff.
That was one of the biggestthings that I had to that I had
to tackle right off the batbecause the previous
administration had uh retired.
And fortunately, the untimelypassing and the tragic death of
uh Chief Diggs, who wasinstrumental in my leadership
(03:42):
journey as well.
So I'll just let a shout out tohim.
But uh yeah, a lot of thecommand staff was no longer
around, so I had to kind ofrebuild everything from scratch.
So that uh that absorbed most ofmy time in the in the beginning.
SPEAKER_00 (03:55):
Yeah, and I could see that because you came in and
then you had retirements, youhad no command staff at that
point.
SPEAKER_01 (04:03):
Nothing at that point.
So I just once I once I knew Iwas applying for the position, I
already started figuring out inmy mind, starting, you know,
jotting down some some roughdrafts of uh what a new
structure would look like, howbest to uh develop the
department to maximize itsefficiency and effectiveness,
and you know, kind of just uhtry and see that to fruition.
SPEAKER_00 (04:25):
Aaron Powell Some of the challenges you face so far
in these two years.
SPEAKER_01 (04:30):
I like I've said in some of my interviews that being
an internal candidate, I knew alot of the the challenges, the
strengths, the weaknesses, theareas to grow within the
department.
So I just wanted to make surethat I hit the ground running,
which I felt I did.
I did have a hundred-day plan inmind uh with the number of areas
I want to uh ensure thedepartment was off to a good
start and carry the momentumthat we had, a lot of the
(04:53):
positive momentum, and see some,make some changes that I felt
was necessary to move thedepartment forward.
SPEAKER_00 (04:59):
What are you most excited about and what are your
initiatives that you havealready put into place?
SPEAKER_01 (05:03):
In future episodes, we'll definitely get into the
fine details, but uh overall, II always relate it back to uh
some stuff that we are reallygood at here.
We are really good at two thingscrime fighting and our community
engagement, our communitypolicing.
And within those two areas,there's a host of, like I said,
minute details, different units,different strategies, different
(05:25):
tactics, the way we do stuff,the way we deploy our people.
So those are two areas I wantedto really focus on and you know,
audit, do we still want to dothis stuff, or uh how do we want
to improve it?
How can we make it better?
I'm always looking, you know,we've got like the FMPD 2.0 when
I took over, and my goal is tomake it FMPD 3.0.
How can we get that much betterand really modernize the agency?
SPEAKER_00 (05:47):
Now you talked about modernizing.
So let's go into whatmodernizing means, right?
So what do you mean when youtalk about modernizing?
SPEAKER_01 (05:59):
So initially with modernizing, we're always
talking about technology.
Uh we're talking aboutupgrading, updating, maybe some
uh some new looks to some stuff.
Uh I see you got some oldschool.
SPEAKER_00 (06:10):
Oh yeah, I had to bring it back old.
I had to bring it back.
So as you can see, we have comealso a long way, not just
because of our departmentbuilding and our staffing, but
also our cars.
So all the way back from 1950,we still had that black and
white look.
(06:31):
We went, it looks like a littlebit of blue in 1980, and then we
had a beetle.
SPEAKER_01 (06:38):
Is that Herbie the the Love Bug, right?
SPEAKER_00 (06:41):
That that looks what yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (06:43):
Not sure if everybody's gonna know that, but
Herbie the Love Bug.
SPEAKER_00 (06:45):
I think most people, well, maybe, who knows?
But yeah, and then we had aCrown Vex.
SPEAKER_01 (06:50):
Crown Vex, that was that was my vehicle for most of
my career.
I love those things.
Those are the tanks, they justthey really held up.
They held up really well.
SPEAKER_00 (06:58):
So now this is our car, or is it?
So, fun fact in 1938, the policedepartment only had two
vehicles.
SPEAKER_01 (07:07):
Two vehicles.
SPEAKER_00 (07:07):
So that showed our staffing back in 1938.
SPEAKER_01 (07:10):
Absolutely.
We've come a long way.
SPEAKER_00 (07:12):
And as you said, modernizing and new looks.
So, our new vehicles.
SPEAKER_01 (07:19):
There's our new design, yes.
I like it.
It we've had the black andwhites for when we're going
through and kind of coming upwith our designs.
The the black and whites we hadfor probably about close to 20
years or two decades.
So I felt there was a little bitof a change.
I like incorporating the thinblue line into our vehicles.
For those that don't know, thethin blue line is synonymous
(07:40):
with law enforcement, and thatthin blue line separates chaos
from the calm.
So that's us.
We hold that line right there.
So I think it's very importantfor everybody to know, and that
to be a significant designatorthat we are there to hold that
line.
SPEAKER_00 (07:55):
And for people who don't know, why did we change
the design and the color?
SPEAKER_01 (08:00):
The design and color was more of a refresh, like I
said, an updated design.
There is also a cost savingswith it.
We don't have to send thevehicles out for additional
painting.
So they come right off theassembly line, ready to go.
We can outfit it, we can getmore vehicles on the road that
much quicker.
And a little more durabilitywith those F-150s for the K9
units.
(08:20):
They are super sturdy, rugged,uh, especially with the canines,
because uh our canine unit doesa lot of uh a lot of groundwork
uh and they need thatdurability.
SPEAKER_00 (08:29):
Yeah, and I don't think people realize that our
black and whites actually had toget repainted in order for the
two-tone color.
So the new design is actuallyway more cost effective because
we don't have to do that.
SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
Correct.
Yeah, Ford didn't give us a uh ablack and white off the assembly
line.
It was either black or white,and we had to get it painted,
and that takes time.
So this is just once again alittle more efficient.
SPEAKER_00 (08:51):
Perfect.
And you didn't just modernizeour look for our cars, did you?
SPEAKER_01 (08:57):
No, no.
For many years, I have alwaysquestioned why we live in a
tropical environment.
We live in Southwest Florida.
Why don't we have morebreathable uh uniforms?
The one I'm wearing is thestandard one, worn for my entire
career.
Still wear it because I'm doingoffice work now.
But in the field, I think thethe men and women that are doing
(09:20):
the work on the road, answeringthe calls, they need to be as
comfortable as possible.
And if we can make a slightlittle change, like get in those
uniforms to a lot morebreathable, also take away the
the gun belt that you carryeverything on and kind of
distribute that load a littlebit, a little bit better between
an outer carrier vest and thegun belt.
(09:42):
It helps with, you know, maybesome back pain, a little more
accessibility, because let'sface it, as police has evolved,
we've gained more and moreequipment.
So we've got to be able to havethat real estate on our body to
carry all that.
So yeah, that was one of thefirst things I wanted to do is
change our uniforms.
And uh I I like the look.
We've got a lot of positivityfrom it.
I think people are happy, anduh, I'm glad I can make that
(10:04):
happen right away.
SPEAKER_00 (10:05):
The department definitely I I know the officers
for sure like it, especiallywith the load bearing on that
belt.
As you can tell, I mean, look ateverything they had to carry on
their belts.
So that definitely that outercarry vest was was a huge
difference for them.
SPEAKER_01 (10:19):
No doubt.
SPEAKER_00 (10:20):
I have another fun fact for you.
SPEAKER_01 (10:22):
Where is it?
1947.
Police department was comprisedof one chief, lieutenant, two
sergeants, ten officers.
Wow, 1947, nice.
SPEAKER_00 (10:30):
Once again, tells you a lot about our staffing.
We had two cars, and then in 10more years after the two cars,
then we got one chief, onelieutenant, two sergeants, and
ten officers.
So we grew just that much morein just 10 years.
So how does FMPD look like interms of staffing, division, and
(10:54):
resources?
SPEAKER_01 (10:55):
So uh staffing right now, I'm happy to say that we
are close to being fully staffedand we are authorized for 263
officers.
And that's complemented by closeto 100 civilians.
And our civilian staff is goingto be dispatch, records clerks,
staff assistants, uh crimescene, evidence tech, and a host
of other supporting roles withinthe agency.
Then I can't give enough shoutouts to our civilian staff that
(11:18):
help us, even PIO, that help usuh and able to help us able to
do our jobs that much better onthe road.
SPEAKER_00 (11:25):
Yeah, I I think people don't realize that like
dispatch is also civilian.
When you walk into the policedepartment, you automatically
come into contact with therecords division, which is also
civilian.
So they their background, all ofthe stuff that they do helps the
police department just keepmoving.
So and especially helps theresidents, the public, because
(11:46):
those are the people that youcome into contact with almost
first as soon as you call, youhear dispatcher.
So I don't think people alsorealize that civilians do play
such an important role behindthe scenes.
SPEAKER_01 (11:58):
We are a very proactive agency and we generate
a lot of paperwork.
And as the tech world advances,we we create a lot of dashboards
and electronic paperwork.
So uh somebody has to manage allthat and and uh and and maintain
all that.
So shout out to the civilianstaff to helping our men and
women on the road.
SPEAKER_00 (12:17):
Absolutely.
Now, looking ahead to thefuture, what does the future
have in store, Chief?
SPEAKER_01 (12:24):
So the future is uh I'm gonna give a I'm gonna quote
the mayor for a second.
The the mayor, who's retiredpolice officer from us, mayor
Kevin Anderson, he says thefuture is so bright, you gotta
wear shades.
And he usually comes around withwith a pair of sunglasses.
So it is very bright for theFMPD, and uh, I'm happy to be
seeing that and be a part ofthat.
Uh, I have a tremendous uhsupportive command staff that is
(12:45):
helping facilitate us in allareas of the agency.
One specific thing is the futureheadquarters, which is just a
few blocks away from here, whichwe are super excited.
We cannot get into it soonenough.
It's gonna be state-of-the-art.
I don't know how many timesbigger than the agency, the
department we're in right now,because this building is
severely, uh we've severelyoutgrown this building.
(13:06):
So that's going to provide allof the resources we need.
We're incorporating a gun range.
We have a huge community room,so that much more uh involved
with the community to have themcome in.
We've got a nice area so we cando some outside press releases
and press statements.
We've got a full vehicle storagearea because let's face it, the
(13:28):
the weather down here is notreal friendly to vehicles.
So we're able to maintain ourvehicles and the lifespan of
them and keep them uh keep themon the road that much more, that
much longer.
So uh there's a there's a ton ofother stuff that's gonna go into
this.
The technology area, all theroom we need, say for like
evidence, growing dispatchcenters.
So it's just gonna give useverything for hopefully what
(13:48):
people have been saying is thenext uh I'll knock on wood, 50
years.
SPEAKER_00 (13:51):
Yeah, I mean 50 years would definitely take us
very far.
Yes.
I know obviously working here,we have multiple units in
multiple different locations.
They are not all in with withinthis building.
So what would that mean toofficers that will finally all
be together in one building?
SPEAKER_01 (14:09):
So right now we are very fragmented.
We are all over the place.
We got little mini substationsall over the place.
We're sharing buildings withother departments and stuff.
So this will bring everybodytogether, which only increases
our communication, ourcollaboration, all our crime
fighting efforts.
So it's just gonna help us outall around, which in turn then
puts a better product out thereor better service for the
(14:31):
community in the city.
SPEAKER_00 (14:32):
And where are we at in terms of the new building?
SPEAKER_01 (14:35):
Still in the final stages of planning, budgeting,
making sure we have everythingset before we break ground.
And hopefully the plan is to bebreaking ground beginning of
next year sometime.
SPEAKER_00 (14:48):
That's amazing.
SPEAKER_01 (14:48):
Yes.
unknown (14:49):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (14:50):
So beyond the new headquarters, what's your future
vision for the department?
SPEAKER_01 (14:55):
Future vision for the department is to I'm gonna
say we're really good, and Ijust want to get a little bit
better, a little bit better.
Just some some micro wins.
We've got a lot of new units,divisions on the horizon, which
we'll be talking about here inthe coming podcasts.
Let people know what we're doingto more, like I like going back
to that customized policedepartment, very customized
(15:18):
response.
As as the city evolves, as weget more growth down here, we
want to be able to provide thoseservices as best as we can.
So just a real top-notch premierlaw enforcement agency.
SPEAKER_00 (15:33):
Perfect.
Is there anything you would liketo add before I mean the end of
the our first episode?
Is there anything you would liketo include that I didn't about
where we're at and where we'regoing?
SPEAKER_01 (15:45):
I just want to obviously thank the the men and
women uh that come to work everysingle day, do a tremendous job.
Uh they stay motivated, theythey handle themselves with the
utmost professionalism.
And by doing that, we're seeingreductions in crime in certain
areas, if not most or all areas.
And as a as our population hasgrown, we're actually seeing
(16:07):
reductions in crime where mostmajor cities would see an
increase in population and anincrease in crime.
So for us to be doing thedecrease in crime with the ink
rates in population is just uhit's tremendous.
And it's a huge uh uh huge kudosto everybody that comes in every
single day and uh puts on theuniform, whatever uniform, and
uh and just comes into and workhard.
SPEAKER_00 (16:29):
I think that says a lot about our department.
It's the perseverance, it's theresilience.
And I mean, our staffing to beable to do that is incredible.
So in order to keep the success,we keep our staffing.
SPEAKER_01 (16:43):
Yeah, absolutely.
Anyone around here knows thatthey wear probably uh more than
one hat.
But I think that speaks to ourresilience and uh and how good
we are.
And I'm I'm happy to be here foruh I'm happy to have been here
for the last 25 and probablywon't make it another 25, but uh
as close as I can.
SPEAKER_00 (16:58):
Uh, I think you could do 25.
I've seen you run the bridge.
So I've seen you run with thoserecruits.
So I think you can definitelymake 25.
SPEAKER_01 (17:05):
Yep, they keep me young.
SPEAKER_00 (17:06):
So thank you so much for joining me.
Thank you so much for launchingFMPD Roll Call.
This is just the beginning.
So stay tuned for sure on thosenew units, the work that we do.
We're gonna dive deep.
We're gonna talk about newinitiatives, give you a
background look, and thank youfor joining us on FMPD Roll
(17:27):
Call.
SPEAKER_01 (17:27):
No problem.
Thank you.
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