Chief of police candidates meet the community

The candidates hoping to be the next City of Yuma chief of police spent Wednesday afternoon interacting with the community at City Hall.

The three candidates had a taste of what the community is looking for its next chief.

Each of the candidates, current Yuma deputy Chief of Police Susan Smith, Phoenix police captain Michael Parra, and Patrick Melvin, longtime officer and former chief of police of Salt River Police Department, have all served in Arizona.

Each candidate weighed in on what they plan to work on if they get the position.

“Continue to build up our strength in the police department, continue to aggressively recruit and try to retain our employees. My goal is to effectively roll out a body worn camera program,” said Dep. Chief Smith.

Captain Parra said he wants to focus on training.

“I would have to say probably the training portion of it. I was with the training academy and it’s very important to have that training and that helps retention as well. People want to be successful,” said Capt. Parra.

“I’ll tell you this. I definitely want to enhance the relationship in the community. I’ve talked to a lot of people already and they say the community supports the police department a lot so I look forward to enhancing and being a part of the community,” said former police chief Melvin.

The City of Yuma hopes to hire the new chief next week.