HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hutchinson’s new chief of police is now officially on the job.

Jeff Hooper was sworn in before a packed city council chamber.

Hooper takes over the department from Dick Heitschmidt, who recently retired.

Hooper talked to those in attendance about his decision to come to Hutchinson:

 

Hooper also told the crowd that he will hold officers to a high standard and talked about three core values he believes in:

 

Hooper served 14 years as captain with the joint Riley County-Manhattan Police Department. He has 27 years of experience in law enforcement.

He was asked if he would like to bring any program to Hutchinson that was used in Manhattan. He talked about a system they called the repeat offender program. It focuses on offenders in the community who constantly commit crime. He says they worked with the county attorney in Riley County to ensure repeat offenders wouldn’t get any breaks:

 

He gave an example of a woman who was committing as many as 10 property crimes per week. Under the program, she is now serving 10 years in prison.

Hooper also wants to work with community members to get their input on what they see as issues in the community that need addressed.