Buckeye interim chief making strides

The Buckeye Police Department is making strides to transcend its sagging image after months of bad publicity from internal rifts, a police chief search infused with politics and a lieutenant's messy departure. The force may still lack a permanent leader, but interim Chief Mark Mann, who is in the running for the permanent position, has been busy working to stabilize the department and draw talent.

Since Mann took over in June, the number of sworn and civilian staff climbed to 105 employees, a 25 percent increase. The expansion reflects the population boom in Buckeye, now home to about 40,000 people.

One of Mann's primary goals has been boosting the level of experience in the department.

"Just in the last five months, we've hired . . . eight officers from Phoenix, DPS, MCSO and out-of-state. We've shifted gears," Mann said. "We're not just growing the department with people just out of the academy. We're getting people coming in with unique training and certification."

After recently reorganizing the department, Mann next intends to use RICO funds - money seized from criminal operations - to bring in police dogs.

Of the new structure, he said, "It's built around the premise of taking people in the police department and putting them in the right place to take us to the next level."

There is also a renewed focus on working with the community, said interim Cmdr. Phil Harris, community programs organizer and Buckeye Police spokesman.

"We have the desire to be the best agency we can be," he said, "to be a modern police agency with the heart of a servant that goes to the community and asks, 'What do you want?' We're trying to get back to grassroots."

Part of the fight to make Buckeye an elite force, Mann said, is to improve the public's perception by building on the work of previous chief Dan Saban, who retired in May to run for Maricopa County sheriff on Nov. 4.

"I'm going to continue to follow the exact same direction (of the Saban administration), with accountability, working in the community," Mann said.

"There's this idea that we've got this Podunk P.D. here, but we're closing other cities' cases. They're not catching our guys, we're getting theirs," Mann said, referring to recent arrests of burglars that struck across the Southwest Valley.

Even as the search continues for a new chief, Mann plans on doing all he can to make the most of his time leading the department.

"We're getting rid of that stigma and we're getting to the next level . . . while I'm in this chair," he said.

Mark Mann