Sabrina Mi

Chief Jim Barlow greets senior Tyler Bickel in front of the Carmel Police Department’s Mobile Unit. Barlow said he looks forward to working with both Carmel police and the community as chief.

On June 1, assistant chief Jim Barlow will become the next police chief of the Carmel Police Department. Although it will be challenging to fill the shoes of retiring chief Tim Green, Barlow said he is looking forward to this new role.

“We’ve got one of the best departments in the state and we work in a community that’s one of the best places to live in the country, so it’s a very ideal job,” Barlow said.

Phil Hobson, sergeant and head of school resource officers (SRO), said, “One thing I feel very fortunate about is I know that Chief Barlow is very supportive of the school resource officer program because he was the division commander over the SRO program and he has a very good working knowledge of the importance of our job and I know, as he becomes chief, school safety is one of those priorities.”

Barlow said he does not plan to implement significant changes to Carmel’s SRO program because of its current successes.

“We’re always looking at how do we make it better and grow the program,” Barlow said. “With Officer (Donald) Schoeff, his involvement nationally with the school resource programs, he’s always bringing ideas back to us that we can change and implement, so we just keep the program rolling and adjusting it as things change.”

Hobson said he believes the SRO program will continue to work effectively under Barlow’s leadership.

“When there is change in leadership, there is always an adjustment period. I think one of the things that we’ve been very fortunate within Carmel is that Chief Barlow has been with the department his entire career, for over 30 years. So all of our officers are very supportive of Chief Barlow and I think that the transition from him as an assistant chief to chief will be a very smooth transition because of the knowledge he has of his employees and the knowledge and trust that his employees have in him,” Hobson said. “Changes in leadership can be a very stressful time, but I think in this instance, because of the familiarity with the officers, I think it will be a very smooth and seamless transition.”

Junior Molly Gillig said she believes Carmel is fortunate to have a strong school resource officer program. Gillig went to the Carmel Police Department’s Summer Academy and, through the opportunity, said she now has a greater appreciation for the work of officers through her experience.

“(School resource officers) not only keep our school safe, but can also provide guidance to students. Beyond writing parking tickets when you park up the trail, they really do create a safe learning environment,” Gillig said.

Hobson said, “Our biggest job in this school is to try to build relationships with students and staff, so we can provide any services that are necessary to keep this school safe. Keeping our school safe is number one, but we do that through education, law enforcement, and mentoring students.”