As the new commander of the Sully District Police Station, Capt. Bob Blakley has big plans.
He’s looking forward to highlighting “the good work the 107 sworn officers here do every day,” and he and Assistant Commander Matt Owens have certain goals for 2015, including increasing community engagement by revitalizing the station’s Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC).
But Blakley’s also concerned about residents’ perceptions about their local police. “Law enforcement is in the national spotlight – and even in Fairfax County – for negative aspects,” he said. “I want people to know they can trust their police department and ensure that the police have a positive reputation.”
“I’ve devoted my life to public service and I know the hard work and sacrifices the police have made,” he continued. “I tell my officers, ‘Do your best to maintain the public trust,’ and it comes from maintaining a good relationship with the community.”
Blakley’s already redesigned the station’s Neighborhood Patrol Unit to make it more effective. He divided it so half the team is focused on traffic issues and the other half focuses on community policing. “And they’ll often support each other,” he said. “So it’s now a more dynamic and flexible unit.”
He’s increased the amount of training at the station to hone the officers’ skills in everything from legal updates to first aid to tactics, and Owens is also part of the Leadership Training Team. Like Blakley, Owens is an instructor with the Leadership in Police Organizations program, and they both want to provide that kind of training for all of the station’s 14 supervisors.
Regarding the police/community relationship, Blakley said he seeks out any opportunity to nurture it. The CAC meets the second Wednesday of the month, at 7:30 p.m., at the station, and Blakley said those meetings offer “a great place for citizens to have a dialogue with us and tell us what’s concerning them. We want to know what the community expects of us and we want to deliver it.”
Basically, he said, “I’ve been blessed with many opportunities and am proud of everything we’ve accomplished here and will continue to. And I’m thrilled to be able to do what I’m doing.”
Toughest, said Blakley, is that “it’s a 24/7 operation and I’m in charge. So I stay plugged in a lot – the job never ends.” The best part, he said, is “seeing the really awesome things the officers do – making sacrifices and criminal apprehensions, plus collecting food for holiday meals, assembling the food baskets and delivering them to families in need. We want to participate in the community and be good stewards of the Sully District.”
He also enjoys “sharing experiences and job satisfaction with the employees. I like seeing them be happy and excited to be at work.”