It’s been like old home week for Demorest’s new chief of police, Robin Krockum. The one time assistant chief was appointed to succeed his former boss, Greg Ellingson, during the Demorest City Council meeting on January 12.
READ: Ellingson Out, Krockum In as Demorest Police Chief
Krockum, a native of Habersham County and 1991 graduate of Habersham Central High School, served under Ellingson for ten years. He left the Demorest Police Department in 2006 to advance his career. “I started the Alto Police Department,” says Krockum. “I had the opportunity to go down there as chief and build it from the ground up and make it successful.” Krockum then moved to the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office. That’s where he was working as Patrol Commander when he was tapped to become Demorest’s top cop.
“I always loved this city,” he says. “It’s the first place I worked on patrol.”
Experience, education and expectations
In addition to his decades of experience in law enforcement, Krockum holds a Masters degree in Criminal Justice.
“With our city’s history it was time for a change in our police department,” says Mayor Rick Austin, “so we made the decision to move the police department in a positive direction with the hiring of Robin Krockum.”
Austin says Krockum’s education, experience and high level of training – he has almost 4,000 hours of professional training behind him – make him one of the most highly qualified police chiefs in the region. “He’s an administrator. He does budgets. He was the patrol commander for Habersham County. He’s the total package,” enthuses the mayor.
The state requires 20 hours of professional training annually for police officers to stay certified. Austin says the department was struggling to do that under the former chief. He and the council have high expectations of Krockum. “I expect our men are going to go from being minimally trained to being among the best trained officers very rapidly,” says Austin. Asked to quantify that statement he says, “I expect our men to have 100 hours of training under their belt by the end of this year.”
That’s a tall order but one Chief Krockum says he’s ready to fill. He says he’ll be able to do most of the training himself either in-house or at nearby facilities. “It (training) makes the officer better. It allows them to provide a better service. It reduces liability. You can never have enough training.”
In addition to the physical aspects of police work in matters such as use of force and vehicle pursuits, the chief says training will also focus on policies and procedures and maintaining professional standards.
So what will all of this law enforcement training and organization mean to the residents of Demorest?
“They can expect they’ll see increased patrols. We’re going to be proactive in dealing with crime instead of reactive. We’re going to increase their trust,” Krockum says. “I’m here if they ever need anything. My door’s always open.”
Taking over from a former boss and leading a department of five, soon to be six, full-time officers may sound like a lot to jump into overnight but Demorest Police Chief Robin Krockum appears to be off to a good start. He says he went into law enforcement to help people and is looking forward to doing that in his new job on his old beat. “It’s a great feeling. I look forward to working with the city and the community and helping the department grow. They deserve the best service they can get.”
