Last month, I was honored to be sworn in as the chief of police for the Acworth Police Department (APD). Over the past 22 years, I have devoted myself to serving the community as a homicide and cold-case prosecutor, leadership coach and public speaker. I am driven by the belief that leadership deeply impacts all we do, and I always have worked to provide the best advocacy possible in the name of and on behalf of crime victims, public safety and law enforcement. My goals include ensuring fairness within the criminal justice system and using my positional platform as a means for demonstrating the importance of leadership development and collaborative team building in everything we do. I am looking forward to utilizing these skills to build on Chief Wayne Dennard’s success and legacy of leadership at the Acworth Police Department.
For this month’s article, the Around Acworth team asked me to answer the following questions for the community:
Why did you want to be Acworth’s police chief?
I’ve always been driven by the desire to serve my community. My goal as the Acworth chief of police is to facilitate the growth of the Acworth Police Department so that we may continue to achieve the highest levels of professionalism, service and leadership our community has come to expect.
What are your main responsibilities?
The main responsibilities of the chief of police are to establish and maintain community trust and direct daily operations of the police department such that its officers may enforce the laws that have been established to provide for public safety as well as protect and serve the victims of any crimes committed in this community.
What has your time with the city been like so far?
Having grown up in Acworth, working with the city has felt like a homecoming of sorts. The entire city team has been very welcoming, and I believe that I am exactly where I am meant to be in this season of my law enforcement career.
What excites you most about Acworth’s future?
I am most excited about Acworth’s continued growth. In the past 20 years, the city’s development has been exponential. We are now in a state of sustained growth and prosperity, and I am eager for the opportunity to help lead and grow the Acworth Police Department, with the goal of maintaining our designation of the safest city in Georgia.
What are your personal and professional goals?
I am passionate about leadership. My greatest accomplishments have never been achieved alone. Rather, those accomplishments have been the product of the power of leadership through collaborative teamwork. My desire is to help build outstanding leaders and teams at the Acworth Police Department, with the goal of providing the absolute best public safety service possible to our community.
Tell us about your hobbies.
I enjoy reading and music. I play guitar, love running and exercise, and I serve on several civic and nonprofit boards, such as the board of directors for McKenna Farms, a nonprofit that provides innovative therapeutic programs and resources for children with special needs and their families.
I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the Acworth Police Department. Through the years, I have worked closely with many members of the department. APD has a well-deserved reputation for excellence, and I am excited to serve on this amazing team.
– Chief Jesse Evans has served more than 20 years as a prosecutor and law enforcement professional. He is a native of Acworth and knows there is no better place to live, work and play.
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