Gering takes over as Concordia Police Chief
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE CHIEF
Brent Gering takes office as the new Concordia Police Chief on Monday.
Gering has 22 years of experience as a law enforcement officer. He began his career in Concordia, and then spent 19 years with the Dickinson County Sheriff's Department in a variety of roles, including drug and criminal investigations, K-9 handling, and a supervisor on patrol.
Gering sat down with the Blade-Empire for a wide-ranging interview. One of the first issues he must tackle is a problem almost every business is struggling with: hiring employees. “The biggest issue right now it personnel,” Gering said. “We need to figure out ways to recruit and retain personnel. And I know that's a challenge nationwide. We've got to find the key elements that will attract people to the Concordia Police Department, whether it's dispatch or patrol... older people are retiring, and there's just not the younger people there to take over those positions.”
Gering's main goal as Police Chief is to build solid partnerships with citizens, businesses, and community leaders. “To me that's key,” he said. “We have to have that trust with the people. We also need to build a solid relationship with the city manager, the mayor, the city commission, so that we all work as a team. One of the things I'd like to implement is what I call 'Beats' – having an officer assigned to a specific area so he knows the area, knows the people in that area, the events that take place there. He's going to be the liaison for that area. We've got to get out there; we've got be seen. We need to get Neighborhood Watches going. We need the people to feel comfortable about contacting law enforcement about anything going on.”
Crime is an issue in any community, of every size. In some instances, rural communities are targeted for the very reason that they are rural and somewhat isolated. Professional thieves are not beyond plying their illicit trade in communities like Concordia. “It's also crucial that we build partnerships with the KBI, the FBI, and other agencies so that we can work together to solve some of these crime issues,” Gering said.
Locally, drugs and theft are two major problems, and they often go hand-in-hand. “If we can control the drug problems, we can control some of these crimes because drugs lead to theft and everything else.”
Gering intends to work closely with the media, to get information out to the public. “Media is a powerful platform, and it's key for us to have someone we can reach out to right away and get vital information out there to the public. I want us to do a better job of informing the citizens of Concordia about what's going on in the community.”
Gering vows to bring his style of leadership to the community. “We will have a police department that is trustworthy, that the people can be comfortable with. In that way we can make the whole community safe. We're humans too; we're part of this community too. We're out here to help and protect. After the George Floyd incident (in Minneapolis, Minnesota), there was so much separation and tearing at law enforcement. We've got to do everything we can to bring the balance back, to have the people trust us and work with us again. That's how we can be successful as a community. Community trust is the most important thing to me.”