Brookhaven Top Cop Welcomes Challenge of Building New Department

Gary Yandura was named Brookhaven's first-ever police chief at a news conference on Tuesday morning held at Brookhaven City Hall. Now, he answers Five Questions from Patch:

1. What attracted you to the job of Brookhaven's first-ever police chief?

Yandura: I was attracted by the diversity and makeup of the community, along with the challenge of starting the first police department from ground level. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me.

2. How familiar were you with the city and community when you applied?

Yandura: I was familiar with the city. I had frequented the area because of the excellent restaurants and shopping available. We also have friends and relatives living in the Decatur and Ansley Park areas.

3. Building a department from the ground up is obviously a major challenge. What's the first task or tasks you'll be undertaking?

Yandura: Getting a highly qualified command staff in place, followed by the concurrent recruiting of personnel and ordering of 'long wait time' items, such as vehicles, weapons, uniforms, radios, computer/communications, etc. We would also be concurrently reviewing crime data, geographical response times while meeting with community groups to seek out concerns, problem areas and priorities in providing the best law enforcement for Brookhaven.

4. What can your department do to ensure Brookhaven attracts the best police personnel?

Yandura: The first step is to ensure we are offering the best possible and area comparable benefit package which is being provided through the efforts of the city. The next step is to ensure thorough backgrounds and vetting is being done on each applicant to ensure we are getting the best of the best.

5. And finally: Our Patch poll showed a strong preference that Brookhaven's finest wear dark blue uniforms, followed by gray, in a distant second. Any preferences for uniform color?

The uniforms will be part of our new uniform policy, which is being compiled as part of the police departments new standard operating procedures. This will be a team effort, as will vehicle markings and other visible items. We will also take into consideration uniform availability and costs when making these decisions. Currently dark blue uniforms are the most readily available and reasonable in costs.

See Also:

Brookhaven Names First-Ever Police Chief

Brookhaven Mayor Catches Dollar Store Thieves

Brookhaven to Announce Police Chief on Tuesday

Almost 100 Officers Apply to Become Brookhaven's First Top Cop

Brookhaven's Finest: Dressed in Blues ... or Blacks ... or Grays?

City Manager: We're Interviewing Nine Candidates for Police Chief