Mexia PD to offer programs for adults and youth

Mexia Police Chief Brian Bell spoke to the Rotary Club of Mexia recently about some programs the Police Department is putting together, some for adults and others for youth.

The PD is researching and looking to kick something off in the fall, Bell said.

“We’ve been speaking to other law enforcement agencies throughout central Texas and north Texas,” he said. “Two of the programs we’re looking at is a Citizens Police Academy, sponsored by the Mexia Police Department; the second program we’re looking at is a youth program of sorts. We’ve had several meetings with different organizations.”

Possible adult programs

A program for adults the PD is considering is a Citizens Police Academy, which would probably be a class that would last about 12 weeks. It would be one night a week for an hour to an hour and a half. There would be some training as far as First Aid and CPR. Attendees would also learn about law enforcement in Mexia.

A lot of it, people already know because of their participation in local government, Bell pointed out. This is going to be an opportunity to learn for those interested in how it works.

The program will feature representatives from different law enforcement agencies, such as the Sheriff’s Office, the constables, the Department of Public Safety and the Highway Patrol, each talking about what they do.

Also there will be someone from the Texas CID (Criminal Investigation Division), which is always interesting, Bell said.

“That is always a favorite because it’s a guy with a beard, blue jeans and a hoodie,” Bell said. That’s a state police detective in Texas because they handle all kinds of stuff, like narcotics. They may be in the middle of an investigation; and that’s literally their uniform throughout Texas: blue jeans, a hooded sweatshirt and a beard.

Another speaker will be from the Texas Rangers Company F, which is based in Waco, who will talk about what specifically the Rangers do.

“So there will be a lot of interesting opportunities for Q&A with folks that are responsible for law enforcement,” Bell said.

The Citizens Police Academy will probably be held it at the Mexia Police Department, in the Patrol/Courtroom.

“As you see these presentations, you learn about law enforcement and how it works,” he said. “There are different levels that a civilian police force can participate in. Some of them you can ride out when you want to with the police department and get firsthand knowledge of what they do.”

Another option besides the Citizens Police Academy is a neighborhood watch situation, where volunteers sign up for certain days and ride out in a car with orange lights on it and a radio. If they see something suspicious, they would report it to the police.

Possible youth programs One upcoming youth program is through Boy Scouts of America and is called the Police Explorer Program.

“We’re looking at putting something like that together,” Bell said.

There’s also something called the CERT program, which stands for Community Emergency Response Team. CERT teaches volunteers about disaster preparedness for the types of hazards that could occur where they live. CERT has an adult and a youth program.

Mexia’s National Night Out is in October, and the Police Department will start working on NNO at the end of July.

Bell credited the Mexia community for making its National Night Out one of the most successful in Texas.

“The event only happens because of the community,” he said.

NNO is not-for-profit, so any donations not spent in one year go to the following year’s event, he said.

Since the surrounding smaller communities don’t have their own National Night Out, Bell makes a point of always inviting police and firefighters from the surrounding small communities, and also the Sheriff’s Office and DPS officers, to the Mexia National Night Out.

He also wants to have youth activities at NNO, but the No. 1 issue they face is getting enough adult volunteers.

“We’re always going to have members of law enforcement there,” he said, “but we can never have a situation where an emergency happens that requires all hands on deck, and now we’ve got kids meeting at 6:30 in the evening, expecting somebody to be there. Whatever organization we go with, it’s going to take adult volunteers to help us out, so we’re going to be soliciting help for that.”

A lot of the rules for using youth volunteers have changed over the years.

“Back in the day, if you were 16 years old, your parents could sign a waiver to let you ride along with a police officer,” Bell said. “So a lot of kids would join to actually be able to do that and be able to see what that’s all about. That’s not the case anymore. Now there are so many liability issues.

“We used to be able to have Boy Scouts get out and help direct traffic. I grew up as a Boy Scout; I was an Eagle Scout, and my entire high school career, I got to participate in community events, and help with directing traffic or whatever it was.”

There are a lot of things now the Boy Scouts can’t do because of liability, he pointed out.

“Theycanwalkaroundand man an information booth, but other than that, if you’ve got 15 Scouts and you only need two people to man the booth, and everybody else is picking up trash – that’s hard to sell to a teenager.

“So we’re really going to try to find exciting things for them to be able to participate in, reach out to the other law enforcement agencies in Waco,” he said. “Some of the agencies have driving simulators and shooting simulators so they can go out and do stuff that’s exciting for them. That’s going to be one of the hard sells, getting the kids interested and getting them to stick with it.”

The PD has talked about having a bicycle program, but the Department doesn’t have enough personnel.

Traffic stops taking more time

The Mexia PD is in the middle of switching from one computer program to another. The two systems are Computer- Aided Dispatch and the Report Management System.

Currently, both programs are accessible on the computers in the police cars.

Typically traffic stops don’t escalate to something else, he said, but when they do, they will require more time. Typically, traffic stops shouldn’t take more than 8 minutes.

If they take longer, he said, it is because the police are still dealing with issues with the new computer system; sometimes the computers shut themselves down and have to reboot.

“It is a problem,” he said, “and it’s one we’re working with our IT folks about.”

Gone are the days when an officer can issue a verbal warning, Bell noted. Because of all the racial profiling stats they’re required to turn over to the FBI annually, a motorist has to be presented with a piece of paper.

“So even if it’s a warning, it still has to be on a piece of paper,” he said. “And if they don’t give you a piece of paper, that officer can end up being dinged for not providing all that information.”

Staffing shortages

Regarding staffing, Bell said the Mexia Police Department is currently short five sworn peace officers.

When the Department is full staffed, there are 19 peace officers, including Bell. They also have two civilian employees.

Mexia PD recruits cadets from McLennan County College Police Academy and the Navarro College Police Academy, which is held in Corsicana and Waxahachie.

The problem is that when a Mexia officer goes to those academies and makes a presentation on the Mexia PD, they are competing with the police departments of larger cities that offer significantly higher salaries.

Mexia police officers with five years experience make $47,000; $50,000 if they’re a sergeant.

Rowlett Police Department, for example, starts out at $71,000 a year. An officer with five years experience, can work for the Garland PD for $90,000. Even if an officer takes a job with the Mexia Police Department, after gaining a few years experience, they may take a job with the PD of a larger city for significantly higher pay, so Mexia has to recruit other, less-experienced officers.