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| Welcome to Fairfax Police Department |
    
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| About Fairfax Police Department
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| In this section of our website, you can learn about our agency, our history and our great team. Just click any link for more information.
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| Our Main Focus
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 Fairfax's police department began rather humbly with a single officer in the early 1920s, and has mastered the challenges of changing times to become, today, a thriving modern agency with 20 employees and an easy-to-understand approach.
"For us, it's all about solving problems," explains Fairfax Chief of Police Ken Hughes. "First and foremost, we want to provide good police service to the citizens of the town, but our over-riding goal is to strive to do our best to solve problems for people. That's where we want to be known as successful."
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| An Emphasis on "Community Oriented Policing"
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Fairfax Police Department believes strongly in the philosophy known as "Community Oriented Policing". In this modern approach to law enforcement, the entire community becomes involved in identifying and solving problems that affect the community. Local community groups work in tandem with police officers to address issues and research resolutions that will provide a long-term solution to community needs.
"Fairfax - as any community does - has gone through a lot of social changes over time," explained Chief Hughes. "Consequently, we can't allow ourselves to become stagnant in our work. We want to be constantly available to work with people in the community to respond to changing needs."
Certainly, the department's mandate has undergone change. In the early days of the department, the rollicking times of Prohibition and speak-easies were the challenge facing the 6-person department in what was then a resort community. Later, in the 1960's, the department had grown to about 9 staff members, who dealt with the unrest of the 1960's and the influences of major rock concerts hosted in the community.
"Now, of course, the challenges we face are different," Chief Hughes stated. "Our community is no longer a summer resort - it is a bedroom community with a family orientation, as well as a still popular entertainment destination with a spirited, thriving night life. The issues we deal with can be domestic problems, or substance abuse, or juvenile issues, or parking problems - but we are working to develop and maintain programs that reflect these needs and that help the community in these areas." Chief Hughes noted that the Bicycle Officer program, the D.A.R.E. program, the department's foot patrols, and the Parking Enforcement program are among the recent outgrowths of the department's focus on aiding the community in solving problems.
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| Focus on Technology
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In addition to adopting a philosophy that involves the community in its work, Fairfax PD is focused on adopting technologies that will aid the officers in providing the best possible service to the community.
"During 2002, we will be upgrading our dispatch equipment so we can be better assured that the calls we receive can be handled as well as possible. Our 9-1-1 system is being replaced, and our radio system is being upgraded so that it will be standardized with other systems used in the county. This will help us to be better connected with agencies throughout the county, whom we work with on a cooperative basis when issues occur across our jurisdictional borders," explained Chief Hughes.
Another effort being spearheaded by Fairfax PD will enable records management systems throughout the county to be accessible by police agencies in each community. "By working with other agencies in the county to regionalize our online police records, we are confident that we will be able to more effectively fight crime for our community," noted the chief. Initially, the department is cooperating with the City of San Rafael and the Town of San Anselmo on this project.
"Regardless of whether we are working with other police agencies, with community-wide groups like the Chamber of Commerce, Safe Routes to School Committee and the school district, or with a small neighborhood association, we want to work harder to become a valued addition to the problem-solving task forces of the community," concluded Chief Hughes. "That's one of the many things we enjoy about our work, and I'm confident we'll be continuing our efforts in this important aspect of law enforcement in the future."
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