Green Cove Springs police gets public input on strategic plan

Police Chief John Guzman led a tour of his agency’s headquarters and discussed the police department’s five-year plan during a meeting with community members on Wednesday, November 16.

Guzman said the strategic plan is part of the department’s efforts to become an accredited law enforcement agency.

He said one unique feature of Green Cove Springs is an influx of hundreds of workers during the workweek because the city is the county seat.

“So our city of 10,000 swells during the weekday,” he said. “I don’t know what it swells to, but just considering the number of institutions we have here, it’s considerable.”

Guzman talked about the agency’s composition and how much officers and dispatchers are paid compared to surrounding agencies. He also discussed the department’s organization, staffing levels and management team.

“Normally, we have one sergeant and two patrol officers on every shift,” he said, “so that gives us about 12 patrol officers. We supplement that with a canine unit and a DUI-traffic unit.”

The chief added that the agency also employs part-time patrol officers, two detectives and has assigned a third detective to a DEA drug task force in Jacksonville.

Guzman said that because growth in Green Cove Springs is uncertain with the construction of the First Coast Expressway, he and other city leaders must remain flexible in planning the department’s future.

Guzman told the crowd that he is a big proponent of technology and plans to expand or initiate the agency’s use of license plate readers, dash cams, body cameras, tasers, phone apps and other technology.

He added that the police department invests in education and training, with the city reimbursing officers for college tuition and the department sending its seasoned officers to leadership academies.

He also said the agency recently completed its first-ever block training session with officers practicing jiu-jitsu, defensive tactics, felony traffic stops, taser training and DUI enforcement training.

“It was a day full of training,” Guzman said. “It’s the first time we’ve ever done that, and it was great. That’s the direction we want to go, and I think in the next five years, we just needed to increase and enhance that training because we have to be sharp.”

Guzman said his officers know that one mistake can expose the agency to criticism and erode public confidence in the department.

“Society has no room for us to make mistakes,” he said. “We have to be perfect all the time. That’s what they expect of us.”