The Rotary Club of Akron had the pleasure of listening to Akron’s Chief of Police, Stephen L. Mylett. Chief Mylett was sworn in as Chief of Police of the Akron Police Department on Thursday, August 19, 2021. Chief Mylett has over 30 years of law enforcement experience.
View the presentation by clicking here or copy and paste this link in your browser https://youtu.be/zpsgCcPqBjo
Chief Mylett now commands the department’s 447 officers and supervisors, 43 Reserve officers and 33 civilians that serve Akron’s 198,000 citizens.
Chief Mylett was attracted to the open Chief of Police position as he was looking for a place he and his wife could call “home” and where most of his children would possibly relocate or be closer to them.
He was impressed with Akron in a preliminary visit prior to applying for the Chief of Police position. After hearing Mayor Horrigan and seeing the leadership the Mayor was providing, he was convinced that Akron would be that “home” he and his wife were looking for.
Chief Mylett believes the police force is very united and universally his staff want to be of service to the Akron community. He is in the process of interviewing every staff member within the police department to see what their needs are and their commitment to provide services to the community.
The major desire the officers wanted to accomplish is to get rid of the gun violence.
The city of Akron took 1200 guns off the streets this past year. Chief Mylett says the bad news is that (1) crime is high, (2) drug overdoses are high, (3) there is a shortage of police officers. The good news is that (1) the City of Akron is seeing a decrease in the number of homicides, and (2) the department will be initiating a hiring campaign to attract new police officers. The Chief would like to provide more diversity within the department. Currently 80% of the force is White, 15% is African American. The city of Akron is 50% African American.
Individuals interested in becoming a police officer need to be between 21 and 40 years of age.
Chief Mylett wishes to provide his officers the three pillars of (1) Wellness, (2) Recognition, and (3) Personal Career Development.
His promise to the community is to build bridges and trust in the community.
To learn more about the Akron Police Department, go to www.akronohio.gov. and click the Police Department link.
Yours in Service -
Terry Dalton
Club Secretary and Scholarship Chair
