In one week the Queen Creek Police Department will officially launch under the watchful eye of Police Chief Randy Brice, who has spent the past 18 months forming the municipal police department of his dreams.
The Queen Creek Town Council approved establishing a municipal police department at its March 18, 2020 meeting following a comprehensive police study and extensive public outreach. They hired Brice, who began his role as chief on July 20, 2020. He was officially sworn in on Dec. 2, 2020.
Brice grew up in Mesa and graduated from Mesa High School. He began his career with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in 1992. During that time, he worked in many capacities throughout the organization and earned several unique certifications including drug recognition expert, emergency medical technician and paramedic. In May 2016, he retired from MCSO at the rank of captain. Shortly thereafter, Brice joined the Gilbert Police Department as a commander; he served as the interim chief of police and assistant chief of police over the Investigation-Support Bureau before joining the Queen Creek Police Department (QCPD).
"My whole family is in law enforcement," Brice said. "My dad spent 45 years in law enforcement and I was going to be a school teacher, but decided to follow in his footsteps. This job opened up and I just fell in love with the community. It's fun to have a direct impact with people you work with in the community. It's been a unique opportunity to be able to put your stamp on something right away.
"Queen Creek has doubled in size in the short time I was gone," he continued, adding that he loves the town's atmosphere of being friendly and community based. "We have been woven into regular lives with a unique connection in this closely tied community."
Brice sees this as a very important thing that sets Queen Creek apart from other communities in this current climate of anti-policing across the nation.
"With the national conversation about policing right now it's a little daunting starting a new police department, but also a good opportunity," he said. "All Arizona law professionals want to do the right things all across the board."
Brice said they are lucky that Queen Creek residents know what they want in a new police department and that it has helped them tailor QCPD to what the community wants after spending months listening to residents and understanding their needs.
"The community response has been great, they love their public safety," he said. "We're lucky, we're able to tailor things to them and really listen, understand and respond to what the community wants."
Brice has been doing 20 to 50 community events a month, trying to build up a network of community relationships.
"Engaging the youth through school and faith-based organizations is a priority to discuss the opioid crisis, suicide, driving and traffic safety," he said. "We've met with every school in town and talked to them about what we can do and the school resource (SRO) program will continue and we'll have lunch with the kids. Parents always call the police when they see our car out in front of school and that engagement will be a priority here in Queen Creek because we want to be proactive, not reactive."
The opportunity to learn together and be adaptable is what Brice is most proud of while building this new police department, saying "we are here to serve and serve with respect and compassion."
Queen Creek is known for being fiscally responsible and Brice said they have been trying to continue that by inheriting as much equipment as they can from MCSO.
According to Brice, the QCPD fleet is made up mostly of Chevy Tahoe SUV police cruisers with speciality vehicles like a van for crime scenes, two pick-ups, three motorcycles, some UTVs and ATVs, and bicycles for "the 14 miles of trails here, patrolling the parks and the downtown area."
Brice said the new department consists of 66 employees; 44 officers and detectives, nine supervisors, three lieutenants, the chief himself and nine professional staff members.
"The Queen Creek culture is hyper focused on community connections and what we do with them is super important," he said. "We have a big responsibility and we've embraced that concept and all things are geared towards making that happen while developing this police force."
Diversity in the new police department is very important to Brice.
"Everyone has something to offer and we've focused on the best candidates with a focus on diversity," he said, when hiring officers. "We're at 30 percent staffing of women on the force and I'm excited about that because women really provide a nice perspective that's lost in a male perspective. Studies have shown a lower risk of force with women present and it helps when working with the very vulnerable, like kids. I know (women) make us better. They provide different views and in the nearly 30 years I've worked in law enforcement this team we've put together is the best I've worked with."
QCPD will officially launch at midnight on Tuesday, Jan. 11. Until QCPD begins service next week, MCSO - District 6 remains the town's law enforcement provider. The MCSO substation in Queen Creek is located at 20727 E. Civic Parkway and QCPD will also be housed at that location. Lobby hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For emergencies, call 911. MCSO's non-emergency number is 602-876-1011.
As part of the launch of the new police department, the town will be hosting a Public Safety Day this Saturday, Jan. 8, where residents can join the Queen Creek Fire and Medical Department in welcoming QCPD into the community. Residents will have the opportunity to meet the officers and firefighters, get public safety information and check out new public safety vehicles during this event.
Brice is asking residents of Queen Creek to "be patient as we learn and grow together. It's all about doing it together so we can engage and succeed together."
