New chief offers fresh start

Nixon on the job since Monday

The Williams Police Department welcomed its new leader ‹ Chief Herman Nixon ‹ with his first official day on the job Monday.

An Arizona native born in Flagstaff, Nixon spent just under 22 years with the Surprise Police Department where he went from patrol officer to commander before serving as police chief in Clifton.

Nixon said that, aside from going about as far as he could in Clifton ‹ where he says he turned the department around to be a very professional organization ‹ family members in Prescott became another reason for his move.

"For me, it was closer to my family up here," Nixon said. "I love the northern part of Arizona and it was a good opportunity to move up into a larger department and begin a new challenge."

Nixon ‹ who says he's not generally interested in the past, but in making a new beginning ‹ comes into the department during a tumultuous period and is ready to implement the kind of change council members have talked about. However, the new chief says any new moves will obviously take time.

"We'll look at the restructuring of the department in an overview. I'm not going to come in and make a change the first day I'm there," Nixon said. "I going to look around, see what kind of personnel we have, look at their backgrounds, how long they've been there and really overview the whole police department. And then we'll restructure the department."

Of utmost importance internally is that he and his officers have a sense of unity and that all are on the same page.

"I've met most of the officers here and I think most are willing to do that and join together," Nixon said, citing he believes the WPD has a solid, loyal crew. "When you work for a small department, you have to be together. You have to all have the same ideas and same goals."

Nixon says that the residents of Williams can expect a "common sense" approach to law enforcement, explaining that while he won't necessarily dictate to his officers who gets a ticket and who doesn't, if you commit a crime you should expect to be arrested or investigated.

The new chief believes highly in the philosophy of community policing, which not only means making the community a safe place to walk the streets at night, but having the entire department be out and talking to residents every chance they get.

Doing so, he said, will not only allow the community to get to know its officers better and vise-versa, but allows for a more effective police department as the residents are its eyes and ears.

To that end, Nixon says he wants his personnel engaged in school safety/education programs and community events or charities as much as possible and that he personally has enlisted himself in the upcoming little leagues as a possible coach.

"Community policing isn't just programs ‹ it's a whole philosophy," Nixon said.

He admitted it's too early for him to say if the department is away from the community or not, but stresses that either way, a police department always needs to be a part of the community, not just an organization surrounded by one.

"We need to make sure our officers stay involved with the community, including myself and everyone under me. And that will happen. It's not that hard to do."

Having seen Surprise grow from a small community with seven officers to one with over 100, Nixon understands the changes Williams will face with its own growth over the next few years. He added that it will be important to train current officers on the same aspects.

The new chief invites the residents to speak to him on issues and supports a solution-driven open-door policy.