Commissioner Walwyn meets with Harris County Sheriff in Texas

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Commissioner of Police, Mr. C. G. Walwyn (left) accepts a plaque from Harris County Sheriff, Mr. Adrian Garcia.

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JUNE 27TH 2012 (CUOPM) – Harris County, Texas Sheriff Adrian Garcia has pledged his department’s support to assist St. Kitts and Nevis in the areas of law enforcement.

Sheriff Garcia met and held discussions with Commissioner of Police, Mr. C G Walwyn, who was on a visit to Texas.

Sheriff Garcia and Commissioner Walwyn are both Master Peace Officers licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education (TCLEOSE).

The Sheriff noted that both him and Commissioner Walwyn have been trained and served with Harris County.

Sheriff Garcia has pledged the full support of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department in a sister agency partnership with the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.

Sheriff Garcia heads the largest sheriff’s office in Texas and the third-largest in the United States. Sheriff Garcia is a native Houstonian who chose public service as a profession and became an officer with the Houston Police Department in 1980.

At HPD he patrolled neighborhoods, investigated violent crimes, developed community-policing initiatives and worked to strengthen the relationship between residents and law enforcement. In 1994, Houston Mayor Bob Lanier appointed Garcia as the Houston Police Department’s Liaison to the Mayor’s Anti-Gang Office. In 1999, Mayor Lee P. Brown promoted him to Director of the Mayor’s Anti-Gang Office, where he served until 2003.

Garcia was elected to the Houston City Council in 2003. He chaired the council’s Public Safety and Homeland Security committee. In 2007, Mayor Bill White appointed him Mayor Pro-Tempore.

During his time on council he helped create the Centralized Gang Intelligence and Enforcement Division and amend the city budget to provide funding for a Real Time Crime Center of the Houston Police Department. He also led the effort to reduce overuse of ambulance service by helping to create Care Houston, a case management initiative.

He returned to his law enforcement roots in 2009 as the newly elected sheriff, providing the leadership needed to restore the public’s confidence in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and the direction and resources necessary to bring the HCSO into the 21st century.

Sheriff Garcia is accomplishing these goals based on the fundamental principles that have guided his career and his life: hard work, honesty and public service. He credits his wife Monica, his daughter Nina, his parents and other family members for inspiring him to serve.

As Sheriff of Harris County, Adrian Garcia oversees an operating budget of approximately $420 million and a workforce of about 4,000 law enforcement and civilian employees.

The sheriff has put into place new technological systems that allow for the tracking of reported crime in Harris County in real time, a new Gang Suppression Unit, strengthened Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness programs, a Graffiti Abatement Program using inmate labor, increased participation in federal task forces, strengthened internal accountability systems, the first-ever Executive Leadership Training Conference, employee recognition ceremonies, and operating cost reduction initiatives that have brought spending for the Sheriff’s Office under control.

Recognizing the value of community partnerships, the sheriff has developed numerous community outreach and partnership initiatives to keep Harris County safe, as well as programs to reduce recidivism within the inmate population.