COBB COUNTY — After almost a week as Cobb’s new police chief, John Houser told the Journal he hopes to be a leader that receives the respect of his staff of 600 sworn officers and the community, and that technological advances will make significant improvements in the department’s future.

The following Q&A is a result of a Monday interview with Houser.

Q: What is your vision for the Cobb Police Department five years out?

JH: Our staff is the most important thing we have. We want to make sure five years from now that our staff is very professional, they’re dedicated, they’re educated and they have the ability to serve the citizens of Cobb County. Five years from now, we know that technology will drive law enforcement. We’re about to go live on August 24th with our new RMS (Records and Management System) that will change the way we do business for years to come. It will change the way we write reports, work wrecks; everything will be electronic, and will also give us a lot better data in the future. I never policed with a computer in my car; the guys now can’t do without it. Now, there’s license plate readers that will read every tag that goes by, there’s facial recognition software that’s now in airports. I think you will see society will have more privacy concerns…but I think as technology changes, you always have to weigh the pros and cons of that. Five years from now, we need to ensure the citizens have the confidence and respect in our officers.

Q: What is the drug situation in Cobb right now?

JH: I don’t know that it’s better or worse than it has been, but it’s a constant problem. It involves all aspects of crime…in talking with the people who work in the gang unit, we know that gangs touch on property crimes and persons’ crimes and they’re involved in the drug trade. Gangs probably came on the scene in the last 10 years or so. It wasn’t something when I was a young officer that we had any training on or were aware of.

Q: What do you see as the biggest crime issue in Cobb right now?

JH: I think property crime is something we constantly have to watch. We’ve been successful as far as driving down a lot of violent crime, taking a lot of guns off the streets. I know that the south side of the county is our most active area. It gets a lot of attention.

Q: Has the influx of illegal Hispanics contributed to the crime problem in the county?

JH: I don’t know that it’s contributed to the crime problem. Cobb County Police Department does not actively seek out immigration status of any group in the county, but we do see that there are certainly immigration concerns. But we also try to let them know that if you are the victim of a crime, our concern isn’t your immigration status; our concern is your victimization.

Q: Do you think the county handled the situation with former Public Safety Director Mickey Lloyd properly?

JH: Yes. But to all of us in the PD, it was a distraction. It was a concern to the officers in the field. We have a lot of military veterans. It’s an agency that’s proud of the military. But, then again, everyone wanted to see it through, to give the director the opportunity to provide that information, whatever he had, to resolve the matter.

Q: Do you think the director of public safety position should be filled after Lloyd’s resignation?

JH: I’ve seen it both ways, and regardless of the way the commission wants to go with it, we can make it work. There are certain things that overlap and intertwine between police and fire, primarily with internal affairs, training unit, and your supplies. So all of those things are overseen jointly and, pull those aside, I don’t know if we would have to create more people to oversee that. The acting director, (Fire) Chief (Sam) Heaton, I have the utmost respect for him, and as far as public safety goes, it has always been on the police side, but I really respect Chief Heaton.

Q: Do you expect any cuts in your personnel or funding level?

JH: We’re about 94 percent in personnel services. I don’t think we’re going to cut personnel. If you want to cut positions, we would cut openings and positions through attrition and with 25, 27 openings it measured to be about $1.7 million. No one wants to take police officers from the street. But we also recognize we can’t hide from the budget issues so we put that option on the paper.

Q: Tasers are often seen as liabilities for police departments. What are your thoughts on the use of Tasers?

JH: Without the use of Tasers, it still doesn’t remove you from litigation. I think Tasers are safer on both the citizen and the officer. Not too long ago, I was working a part-time job, there was a theft that occurred in a retail establishment that I was made aware of. So I followed the suspect into the bathroom, he locked himself in the stall and it became a standoff. I was able to stand up above the stall to see what he was doing so I didn’t get shot outside the door and I repeatedly told him to unlock the door, and finally, when I had enough…I reached down to unlatch the door so I could go in and get him out, at which time he pulled a knife out of his pocket and tried to cut me. I called for backup, backup got there, I asked the officer, ‘Do you have a Taser?’ He said he did. And that was the only thing this guy understood. He said, ‘Don’t Tase me.’ I said, ‘I don’t want to, but you’ve got to put the knife under the door.’ He did. And that ended that situation. We never had to use the Taser. A lot of times you’ll find that just the mere presence of a Taser ends the situation.

Q: Do police officers have more or less respect today than in the past?

JH: I will say that when I started policing, when you went to court, your word was almost fact. That’s not necessarily the case today, and that’s not a bad thing. The citizens now want to see video, they want to hear audio; the days when you could just get up there and testify are over. We have to have the respect of the citizens in order to be successful.

Q: What are some of your hobbies outside of the police department?

JH: I like to jog, I enjoy spending time with the family, going to the beach and fishing. I enjoy sports; I’m looking forward to football season. I am an Ole Miss fan. My kids went to Harrison High School and I cheer them on. I went to Wheeler High School, so I follow them too.

Q: What kind of chief do you hope to be?

JH: I hope to be a chief that has the respect of the staff and the respect of the community. I feel like I did a good job when I was in the field, leading by example. I never asked anybody to do anything that I hadn’t done or wouldn’t do. In order to be successful, we have to get the business association, the schools, the churches, the community leaders; we’ve got to get everybody on board. I think I’ve got some police work in me. God willing that my health stays what it is, I plan to work quite a few more years for the citizens of Cobb County.

Q: What is the reputation of the department?

JH: That the officers are professional and dedicated. One of the things we have been proud of is when you turn on the news, you don’t see Cobb officers in the headlines. There have been a few occasions recently where there have been some issues. Those issues are very concerning, and I can tell you, every one of those issues has been dealt with upfront…the good thing is it’s off-duty conduct…but it’s not just about on-duty, it’s about off-duty. We have to conduct ourselves at all times knowing that there is a high standard for our staff. One of the things we do in the department is we take every concern…everything is documented. If you nip the small things in the bud, you don’t have the bigger problems…we all put on this uniform everyday. I’ve had friends who’ve lost their lives in this uniform. We don’t take it lightly and anybody that’s going to commit even the most minor of disciplinary infractions, we do a good job of policing each other because we have respect for what this uniform means.