Candidate for New Police Chief Announces his Future Goals
By: Lisa Carr
Updated: February 8, 2008
The front-runner for becoming Lubbock's new police chief announces his future goals for the department, just four days after the current chief retires.
At a press conference on Friday, Lubbock City Manager Leann Dumbauld, announced Asst. Chief Dale Holton is her top choice for police chief, and the entire department agrees he is the right man for the job. Holton says his number one goal is to help the officers under him do their job because they are the ones risking their lives every day. He also wants to meet the goal of 2 officers to every 1,000 people in the city, and his ideas for improving the department don't end there.
Holton says, "We need to develop new supervisors and command staff. We need to prepare the next generation of leadership. There are some very capable people in this department ... I'd like for us to become more proactive, not so reactive. I want us to have a closer tab on what's going on; the problem areas of the city."
Holton also discussed plans to make the department more racially diverse by enlisting the help of community leaders. The city council is expected to vote on making Holton chief at next Thursday's meeting.
