As we roll into the month of February, I realize that I am already a month behind in “message from the chief.” Throughout the month of January, I received numerous reminders that a January message had not been posted. As you can imagine, the month of January was extremely busy with the transition in leadership combined with the fact that crime did not take a holiday. So … here we go.

First off, let me start by saying thank you for the support and notes of encouragement that I have received; your votes of confidence and suggestions are greatly appreciated. A goal for me as the chief of police is to focus on the relationship between the Powell PD and the community; we desire to be known as the Powell Police Department, as opposed to the people who police Powell.

Several months ago, I was going through the checkout in a local grocery store. I was not in uniform, and the clerk looked at me and said, “You are one of our officers, aren’t you?” Of course I responded by saying “yes,” but ever since that day I have thought about that statement, “our officers.” That is where we need to be.

In addition to my obvious duty requirements, I hope to be able to spend time out in the community with you, to hear your comments, concerns, and, of course, pats on the back are always welcome. Having grown up in farm/ranching and oil communities, I know that the majority of the world’s problems are solved around the tables in our coffee shops, just no one is there to hear the input. If I don’t make it to your table, it’s not intentional; there are a lot of tables — just let me know.

Depending on where you are from, some 100 years ago, the people of our communities took turns performing “watchman” duties, walking our businesses and rattling doors in the wee hours of the morning. They then worked at their jobs during the day.

At some point, a group of these individuals stood up and said, “Hey, this night watchman thing is getting pretty demanding, and I still have to run my business too. Maybe we should hire someone to do this full time.”

OK, I’m getting off task.

We can delve farther into that in the future. Ultimately, what is important is that we, the community and the Powell Police Department, are in this together. We got off to a great start this year with an arrest being made in the Powell Drug burglary and a drug search warrant resulting in the seizure of cocaine and drug monies. But all this was possible only due to the hard, competent work of our officers combined with the input and cooperation of our citizens. Again, we are in this together.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Robert Peel in the early 1800s: “The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”

More to follow next month. Thanks for your ear.

(Roy Eckerdt is the chief of police for the Powell Police Department.)