Fargo's new police chief will be taking a hard look at a number of areas within the Department.
David Zibolski was inaugurated this week. He replaces Dave Todd, who retired.
Zibolski said he will be doing an analysis of the whole department, including divisions, roles and responsibilities and the overall structure.
"Do we have the sufficient resources where I feel we truly need them, in terms of department development, training, investigation, things of that nature," Zibolski told reporters. "We'll be looking at staffing, scheduling, to ensure we have the most officers on the street when we need the most officers on the street."
Zibolski said he also plans to have more training for the officers.
"We live in a very dynamic environment," Zibolski said. "A lot of things happen very quickly."
Zibolski said that means he would like to address things with the officers immediately.
"The traditional methodology of having an in-service once or twice a year really doesn't meet the needs of not only the department, but the needs of the community."
Body Cameras
Zibolski said his officers will have body cameras by late spring or early summer of 2021. He said he has a team doing analysis of body cams, and the department will have demonstrations from four vendors over the next month or two.
Zibolski said these are expensive, but necessary, items.
"We want the vendor that we go with will be able to meet all the check-boxes and perameters we want this equipment to have, so it's viable and usable for the officer, and also meets the community's expectations."
Zibolski said the cameras should have automatic triggers.
"So if you're under duress, if I pull my gun, I don't have to worry about putting my camera on," Zibolski said. "When I do that, the camera activates."
Zibolski said it's making use of the best technology.
"That's what we're looking for," Zibolski said.
