Chief Jones became the Interim Chief of Police for his second time on July 6, 2009. On September 14, 2009, City Manager Russ Blackburn removed the "Interim" title and appointed Tony Jones as the permanent Chief of Police for the City of Gainesville. Retired Gainesville Police Department Captain Tony Jones is currently serving as the Chief of Police for the Gainesville Police Department. Chief Jones began his career with the agency on October 6, 1975 as a police officer. He has served in many capacities during his 33-year career with GPD. He was promoted to the rank of Corporal in August of 1986 and began working as a Crime Prevention Supervisor. In May of 1987 he was promoted to Sergeant and worked as a supervisor in the Operations Bureau. During that period, he supervised the first Community Oriented Policing Teams in Gainesville. He was promoted to Lieutenant in November of 1988 and served as the Commander of both the Crime Prevention Unit and the Community Oriented Policing Teams. In February of 1992, he was promoted to Captain of the Neighborhood Services Bureau. His responsibilities included an expanded COP Team, Crime Prevention Unit, and the School Resource Officers program. On April 30, 1997, Captain Jones was appointed as the Interim Chief of the Gainesville Police Department where he maintained this position for one year until a permanent Chief was selected. He then resumed his position as the Commander of the Neighborhood Services Bureau, which encompassed Crime Prevention, Youth Services, Special Investigations, and COP Teams. In the summer of 2000, the City of Gainesville was divided into two Districts – the North District and the South District. On August 1, 2000, Captain Jones was assigned as the District Commander of the South District over the Operations Bureau, where he divided his time between command patrol activities, as well as the events and activities of the Community Resources Division, formerly called the Neighborhood Services Bureau. Captain Jones retired from the Gainesville Police Department in January of 2004. After his retirement, he served as the Community Relations Coordinator for GPD and also served as the Interim Assistant City Manager for several months during 2005. Throughout his career, Chief Jones has been vital member of our community. He was the co-founder of the Reichert House Youth Academy. The Reichert House serves at-risk youth from ages 12 to 18. The program is a comprehensive, holistic approach to providing educational opportunities, life skills, vocational training, and structured support services which are all designed to transform these at-risk youth into future contributors to our community. Chief Jones serves on the Board of Directors of several organizations in our community: * Boys and Girls Club * The Volunteer Center * The Black on Black Crime Task Force * The Reichert House Youth Academy * Executive Board for the Alachua County Juvenile Justice Department He is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. This year he was appointed by Governor Charlie Crist to the State Advisory Council for the Department of Juvenile Justice. Chief Jones earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services and a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Science from the University of Alabama. Chief Inspector Campos: Captain Jorge Campos serves as the Commander of the Operations Bureau, which is divided into two districts. Each district has an Executive Lieutenant and together they are responsible for all personnel and issues within the districts. GPD is a full-service, community oriented policing agency dedicated to partnering with our citizens for problem resolution. The goals of community oriented policing are to reduce the calls for service, decrease crime through prevention and enforcement, and enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Gainesville. Personnel within each district are assigned to a specific geographical area. By forming partnerships with those we serve, we learn their major quality-of-life concerns, which enhances our ability to serve them. These partnerships also encourage citizens to become involved in developing resolutions to issues within their community. The districts focus on crime prevention and education programs. Community outreach programs such as the Citizens Academy, the television show “Police Beat,” the GPD newsletter, media information dissemination and GPD’s Web site are examples of the continued commitment to form partnerships with citizens. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elio_piedra/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elio-pied... Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Fa... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eliopiedra.d... Twitter: @eliopiedra15 Website: www.eliopiedra.com
