Community engagement and partnerships, not just crime response, will define Garland Ward’s tenure as police chief, he told Exchange Club of Columbus members Thursday.
Ward said his first day on the job less than three weeks ago marked a new chapter for the police department, one that will be defined by honesty, consistency, transparency and accountability, as well as a renewed connection between officers and the community they serve.
Columbus Police Department, he said, won’t exist separately from the community.
“The police department plays an important role, but we cannot do this alone,” Ward said during the meeting at Lion Hills Center. “A safe and successful community requires partnership between law enforcement, residents, business owners, community organizations and leaders who will share the same goal: a better place to live, work and raise families.”
Ward, who has served as an assistant chief with CPD since February 2023, was hired for the top job July 14, replacing Joseph Daughtry, who left after 3 1/2 years for the same job in Yazoo City. Throughout his 26-year law enforcement career, Ward has served stints with Jackson and Vicksburg police departments, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Defense and as chief of McComb Police Department before coming to Columbus.
In response Thursday to a question about CPD’s relationship with Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, Ward said one of his goals as chief is to strengthen bonds with other agencies, noting a recent lunch he shared with Sheriff Eddie Hawkins.
Additionally, Ward said he and Randy Vibrock, police chief for Mississippi University for Women, recently reinitiated a partnership between the two agencies. MUWPD will now have access to the primary channel on CPD radios, and the agencies will work together on cases when needed.
“I believe in partnerships with other agencies. I can’t explain why we didn’t have any, and I’m not going to try to stand up here and explain it,” Ward said. “All I can tell you is that my goal is to change it because we can’t function without each other. The reason I say this is because … we’re all chasing the same people, and I think if we can (partner) and work together and sit in a room and have conversation, I think we can … control a lot of stuff that we have going on in the city and in the county.”
Ward also fielded questions regarding the department’s cameras. A lack of public awareness about how effective the cameras have been in solving crimes is another issue Ward aims to remedy, he said.
“(The cameras) don’t get discussed for whatever reason, but (I intend on changing that) because I need the citizens to know that the board and the mayor is not just saying, ‘We’re going to put a cameras up here, here and here’ just to put the camera up,” he said. “The cameras are working for the police department.”
Chief among his goals for the department, Ward said he plans to focus efforts on building the community’s trust in CPD. That starts with transparency, communication and accountability, he said.
Ward said that trust is also dependent on officers being a consistent, familiar presence to community members.
“This department will be visible. We will be engaged, and we will focus on service,” he said. “You will see our police department in the community, not just during emergencies, but everyday moments. We will build relationships before we need them. We will listen before we act. And we will work together to find solutions to the challenges we face.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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