PEORIA, Ill. – There’s a new top cop in the city of Peoria.
Brad Dixon was officially sworn-in Friday afternoon as the Chief of Police for the Peoria Police Department. A ceremony to swear in Dixon took place at City Hall, with friends, family, colleagues, and community leaders attending.
The Richwoods High School graduate and 25-year veteran of the department takes over for the retiring Eric Echevarria. Dixon gave credit to his predecessor.
“I’ve learned so much under his leadership these last five years,” Dixon said. “I will miss the great times and the laughs we’ve had together. I will never forget the tough times. Our friendship is forever. Thank you Chief.”
Dixon spoke to media members after the ceremony to reflect on the new position and what lies ahead for his leadership.
Dixon says his main goals include motivating the force, and pushing for more community based policing. He also would like to implement the latest technologies available for the department, especially for strategies such as where to place officers more efficiently.
Dixon also addressed what he would do regarding youth violence in the city. He plans to tackle that by going straight to the source.
“I think there’s roughly 15,000 students in Peoria Public Schools, and they need to have a voice,” Dixon said. “They know best what the issues are. We need to make sure we have those connections and we need to make sure there’s lines of communication with our youth.”
Dixon also wants to continue a crusade by former Chief Echevarria in pushing for changes to the laws regarding youth offenders. He wants the legislature to focus on repeat youth offenders, and tell lawmakers some of the issues they are facing.
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