Plant City Police Department officially has a new chief following an announcement Monday afternoon that James Bradford was tapped for the role.
The city conducted a nationwide search with nearly 80 applicants. Of those, the top four were pulled to participate in a variety of panels and then were able to interact with the public in a meet-and-greet at the Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center last Friday evening. City Manager Bill McDaniel then took the weekend to think about the decision and made his pick Monday.
“You had four highly qualified candidates and went through a very extensive process with them, and by the time it was all over I determined that he was the best fit for the city, our department and moving us forward on a continued path of professionalism and excellence in law enforcement,” McDaniel said.
Bradford formerly served as a colonel with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. He has served in a variety of departments including burglary, robbery, patrol, homicide, intelligence and more. He has also served on the Hillsborough County Juvenile Justice Board and Hillsborough County’s Blue Ribbon Committee for Child Safety.
Bradford is a native of New Jersey and received his law enforcement certification through the Tampa Police Academy in 1989. He started his career in patrol and then climbed the ranks to hold a variety of detective positions in the department. He also “was on the transition team to bring child protective investigations on a contract basis from the Florida Department of Children and Families to the Sheriff’s Office,” according to HCSO.
Bradford is a graduate of the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminology. McDaniel said that Bradford’s experience helps make him the “best fit” for the needs of the community. He will officially begin with PCPD on Nov. 30 and will have a transition period with current PCPD Chief Ed Duncan for approximately a month before Duncan officially retires.
During the community meet-and-greet event, Bradford said he received a lot of questions that indicated to him this was a community that was plugged in and concerned with the way their city was run.
He said as chief, his goal would be to focus on community involvement.
“When a place chief is sitting behind his desk, there is physically and theoretically a barrier there,” Bradford said. “It’s important to get out from behind the desk and get to know the community you are working in… it’s so important to get out of the office, especially for a new chief. You’ve got to learn your community. If you don’t know your community, you cannot be effective. You’re destined for failure. You not only fail yourself, you fail the community and you fail the people that work at the police department, which is not fair. So I think it’s extremely important to get out and meet people and listen to their concerns.”
Bradford said the police are the face of the city because they are the aspect of the city the general public sees the most. The way they do their jobs ends up crafting the reputation of that city and he vows to ensure that he will leave a promising status.
One of the main issues he will inherit is the tight budget that has led to an understaffed department. The city is growing at a fast rate and the number of officers on staff does not reflect that growth. It’s something that has been a problem for years and Bradford said he believes there is a “several-pronged approach” that could work to tackle the issue.
“When you’re talking about overworked officers, I think it’s important that as the chief, your supervisors are supervising and paying attention and making sure that they’re not getting burned out,” Bradford said. “If they are getting burned out, if you see their performance start to lag, go to them and say ‘What’s going on? Everything OK?’ Because usually if you ask, they’ll tell you. And if you know they’re not being truthful, keep at them or keep watching. As far as budgetary concerns, that would be a negotiation with the city manager and the council about where the money is coming from. I know Mr. McDaniel is, he’s well aware of the expansion and the need to expand coverage and all that. He’s got some background on that.”
He said when his time as chief is done, he hopes he left a legacy of continued excellent service to the community. He stressed the word “continued” because he said it was something he believes former chief and current city manager Bill McDaniel did and that Duncan continued that reputation. He hopes it’s something he carries on.
Bradford’s investiture ceremony will be held at the next city commission meeting on Dec. 14.