Allan Gilbert is ready to get to work as the new police chief of Siloam Springs.
The current deputy chief of the Tupelo, Miss., Police Department accepted the position in Siloam Springs on Monday and is scheduled to report for duty on Jan. 6, according to City Administrator Phillip Patterson. He will have a starting salary of $95,000.
Gilbert will replace James Wilmeth, who announced his plans to retire in July, according to a July 21 article in the Herald-Leader. Wilmeth's last official day was Sept. 20 and Geoff Lewis has been serving as interim chief since then, Patterson said. Wilmeth continued to serve as a consultant during the transition through Oct. 31, Patterson.
"I'm excited to be a part of the family, part of the community and part of the team," Gilbert said about his relocation to Siloam Springs.
Gilbert said that he has family in Siloam Springs and has visited the area several times. He said he really liked the community and considered moving here after he retired.
Gilbert said he has already received phone calls from people in Siloam Springs welcoming him to the city, including from officers within the Siloam Springs Police Department.
Gilbert plans on making trips to Siloam Springs in the coming weeks and will stop by to visit the police department to see what the city needs. He added that the department is a very professional police department and that Lewis has his full support.
Gilbert said he is hoping to build relationships within the community and with his officers. He described himself as a servant leader and transformational leader who is there to help with any problem his officers may have.
"My door is open. I want to help them with anything that they are doing," Gilbert said.
The new police chief said he is big on training and wants to make sure his officers have access to the best training possible, adding that he wants his department to look beyond next month or next year but instead focus on the next 10-15 years.
However, Gilbert was also quick to point out that he doesn't want to come in and change everything. He wants to take the time to get to know his people and see where things go from there.
As the deputy police chief in Tupelo, Gilbert ran the day-to-day operations of the Tupelo Police Department. Tupelo has an estimated population of more than 38,206, according to the U.S. Census Bureau website, census.gov.
Gilbert started a mentoring program and a recruiting and retention program under his command, he said. The recruiting and retention program takes officers from all ranks and commands, such as SWAT, the detective division and patrol division, and they work together to make the police department better, he said.
Gilbert started with the Tupelo Police Department 27 years ago as a patrolman. He worked his way up the ranks to sergeant, lieutenant, and captain. Gilbert originated the school resource officer program in 1999, oversaw the special ops program and was one of 12 officers who participated in a Federal Bureau of Investigation fellowship program that allowed him to work with Interpol.
The work that Gilbert did with Interpol allowed him to travel to other countries like Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Dubai, Egypt, France and Germany. Gilbert said that he worked on criminal cases in these other countries.
Now Gilbert is looking forward to new opportunities in Siloam Springs. He looks forward to serving his new community and new team. When asked how he felt about leaving Tupelo he describes it as bittersweet. Gilbert is sad to leave the place he has called home for 27 years but he feels it is time to move on to the next challenge.
"I'm ready to be a part of the Siloam Springs Community," he said.
General News on 11/24/2019