KINGSVILLE, Tx — John Blair was officially sworn in as the City of Kingsville’s newest Police Chief after being hired last year.
Blair came from Chicago, retiring as the Deputy Chief of Street Crime Prevention with the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department. He dabbled in many departments at his time in Chicago including narcotics and game crime.
Coming from a big city with big crime, the move to a small, rural town came with learning a new set of laws and taking multiple exams.
“We have to take the 1018 course which is 120 hours of online training and an exam. Once you pass that and certify, TCOLE endorses you to take their exam. So once I was endorsed by TCOLE I had six months to take the basic and then I just studied and locked in every day 8 days a week. If there was an eighth day of the week, I would’ve studied then,” Blair said.
Blair passed all his exams and was sworn in.
But before that, he said he did his homework on the area to ensure he would be a good fit for the community he served.
“I want to keep Kingsville… Kingsville. I don’t want to come in and turn the police department upside down. No matter where you live or what block you live on everybody really wants the same things for their kids and their families. They want kids to ride bikes up and down the block, play catch, whatever it is and everybody should be afforded that opportunity,” Blair said.
With his family packing their bags and moving 1,400 miles away to start a new journey, he said it could be nerve-racking, but it was the people of Kingsville and the city that made it a smooth transition.
“Everybody has been very accommodating and warm and welcoming. It’s been a great experience and absolutely amazing. The city has been amazing too every step of the way from the beginning til now. I’m just so grateful,” Blair said.
Blair said policing has changed a lot in the last few decades, and not just in the way they investigate crime.
“Law enforcement today is very different than it was thirty years ago. A big thing is leveraging technology. It’s a big thing in what we do and how we want to serve our community. I also want to engage with the newer officers who have new ideas. We should be engaging in dialogue back and forth. The officers may come up with an idea or a problem but I want to involve them in a solution as well,” Blair said.
He believes in growing relationships with other law enforcement agencies in the county and state to double down on addressing issues concerning the public together.
“Never lose perspective on being a policeman first. Our job is to serve the community at large and serve them fairly and equally. I don’t believe in commanding from the back of the pack. It’s my job in my position to lead from the front. You’re leading them with a commitment and showing them how to be a leader themselves. You should be able to work up and down from a position so you never lose what it means to be a follower as well,” Blair said.
But just like any other job, Blair still gets some days off a year. He said when he's not trying new restaurants around town, he's been taking advantage and soaking up the Texas heat with his family and hanging out at the Corpus Christi beaches.
“This allowed me the opportunity to reinvent myself and identify what’s important to me and I know that this is where I need to be right now with my family and new friends. It’s been a journey and I’m excited about that because you never know where it’s going to go. But if you surround yourself with like-minded people and smart people you are going to be well on your road to success,” Blair said.
Blair said some short-term goals of his are to secure more grants for different projects for the police department, update body cameras, build relationships and update policies and procedures. He wants to make sure his officers and commands have the right tools and support they need to serve the citizens of Kingsville.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
