Chief of Police Ellis C. Jackson

Chief Jackson serves as the leader of the Thomasville Police Department. Chief Jackson has been with the department, serving the community since 1976. Chief Jackson accrued his experience by serving TPD as a patrol officer, Corporal, Detective, Patrol Sergeant, Lieutenant: Watch Commander, Criminal Investigations Commander, Captain, Patrol Division Commander and was appointed as the Chief of Police in February 2007. Chief Jackson has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Thomas University, 1984 graduate of the FBI National Academy: 136 session and a 2005 graduate of the Georgia Command College: Class 17.

A message from the Chief

Greetings,

February 16, 2007, I was named Police Chief of Thomasville. I began my career with the police department on October 26 1976. During the past thirty years, I have seen this community and agency change in many different ways. Crimes today are a lot different, so the way our agency responds to crime had to change with society. The department has been fortunate to have Community leaders and Chiefs that have always been able to think ahead making forecasts as to what paths must be taken to insure the needs are met. My mission remains the same as my predecessors; it is to provide the highest standards of service in partnership with the community in which I serve. In my strive to meet the challenges of tomorrow and today, the agency must understand what are the concerns in the community, and do we have the proper training and equipment to get the job done. The Thomasville Police Department has always listened to the community to address concerns.

Some years ago former Chief John Perry introduced a new concept to the department called Community Oriented Policing (COP). The concept involved a new way in which officers conducted their day-to-day duties that involved all sectors of the department from Administration, to Criminal Investigation and Patrol Division. We had to transition from “secret police stuff” to actually sharing information with the public and receiving feedback from all the sectors of the community to help provide a better and higher quality of service for the citizens of Thomasville.

Former Chief David Huckstep accepted the concept of COP and took it to the next level. The department began to turn its focus on actual problem resolution in the community to make the city safer. Neighborhood Watch groups were revitalized and new ones added, School Resource Officers were added to City Schools, and new technology was introduced to aid in the proactive strategies to combat criminal activity. The agency has strived to become futurist thinkers to continue the efforts to provide the best police service in South West Georgia.

It is my intention to continue in our efforts to provide the quality of service that our citizens have always expected from this agency. I believe the concept of COP is what makes the community proud of its department. It is the responsibility of the Police Chief to insure the men and women employed with the Thomasville Police understand my definition and philosophy of this renewing concept from year-to-year.

My philosophy of community policing is citizens and police officers working together in creative ways to help solve existing community problems related to crime, fear of crime, social and physical disorder, and neighborhood decay. From this perspective, change is called for not only in police responsibilities but also in the goals, operations and management of the police department from the Chief’s office. It is my objective to properly equip our officers with the necessary tools it takes to meet the goals we set. These goals include having a sound quality of life environment, safe neighborhoods, arresting those that violate the laws of the State or violate Local Ordinances, and stopping neighborhood decay by actively participating with other departments of city government. There is a lot more to COP than attending the next neighborhood watch meetings and responding to calls for service. I expect for our officers to go the extra mile in finding the solutions for neighborhoods that are infested with drug sales and usage, complaints of loud music, thefts from vehicles, burglaries, speeding vehicles, assaults, rapes, reporting street lights out, signal lights malfunctioning, high visibility at accident prone intersections, finding assistance referrals, finding resources for people in need, and etc.

We are the cutting edge of COP. Our department has been the model for other agencies to follow since the very start of COP. COP does not represent turning our heads or closing your eyes on crime. It represents being proactive all the time in strategizing to lessen the opportunities for criminal activity. It means listening and taking notes to analyze intelligence to predict and prevent crimes from taking place. It means using intelligence to put together an undercover surveillance team on drug dealers and gathering enough evidence to secure an arrest warrant. COP has been the lifeblood of the department. The COP concepts will continue to be the fuel that makes our citizens proud of their agency, all because we care about the quality of life in our community.

Ellis C. Jackson
Chief of Police