Jacksonville police chief one of few selected for FBI classes

By Amy Widner

LITTLE ROCK — At a two-week development session conducted by the FBI National Academy last month, Jacksonville Police Chief Gary Sipes represented the only Arkansas police department among chiefs of police from across the world.

Sipes’ nearest geographical neighbor was a police chief from Midland, Texas. Even so, Sipes said he learned that police departments across the world are facing similar problems.

“The first day when we stood up to introduce ourselves, [a police chief from Hong Kong] told us his name, and we had to list two things that werethe biggest concerns at our departments,” Sipes said. “He said his biggest challenges were hiring qualified people and retaining qualified people. And I said to him: ‘Do you know where Jacksonville, Ark., is? Because we need to talk.’”

The Jacksonville PD is short by 15 officers (two are in Iraq). Sipes said other chiefs from places like Australia and the United Kingdom listed similar concerns. Sipes said the time he got to spend meeting other chiefs was invaluable. He and the Hong Kong chief started e-mailing as soon as they returned home.

“[The FBI National Academy’s] philosophy is not only to put on a first-rate law enforcement class, but for each individual there to build contacts,” Sipes said.

Sipes spent the two weeks at the FBI National Academy at Quantico, Va. The classes were called the Law Enforcement Executive Development Session No. 60. The courses are invitation only and all expenses paid. Sipes is a 2005 FBI National Academy graduate, a prerequisite for the training sessions. Jacksonville was one of the smaller police departments represented.

“I am one among the less than 1 percent of police chiefs in the world that get invited to participate in the sessions,” Sipes said. “That’s not just the nation, that’s the world. It was a great honor for me to be asked to participate.

“They brought in top-notch instructors from around the nation. It wasn’t just strictly FBI. The people they brought in, some of them are ex-FBI and then some of them are individuals who go around the world doing these types of classes.”

Sipes said two of the major themes were leading through change and learning to change yourself.

“It’s easy for a chief to sit here and say, ‘We’re going to start a new program,’ or ‘We’re going to implementsome new procedures,’” Sipes said. “But you can’t just snap your fingers and let everyone else do the hard work of figuring out how to achieve what you want done. You have to help. And you have to make sure, for it to be a success, you have to get the officers to buy into it.

“We also talked about dealing with new generations. Sometimes you as the administrator have to change because - if you’re like me, you’ve been in the business for 33 years. I came in back in the ’70s and, of course, everything has changed since then. You have to change with the times, learn to give and take with the new generations,” Sipes said.

- awidner@arkansasonline.com

Three Rivers, Pages 52 on 11/20/2008