Well, truth be told he was new to Apex back in December, but this is the first time the Apex Lions Club had him as a speaker and got to know him a little. Chief John Letteney is currently the Chief of Police for the Town of Apex which has approximately 80 sworn and civil officers. Previously he had served as the Chief in Southern Pines since 2005 and he is originally from Rochester, New York. He shared a great deal of information with us but through it all we could tell he has a heart and passion for what he does. As he shared how honored he is to have been entrusted with the long heritage of the Apex Police Department, he emphasized several key concepts. Among these were Ethics and Community Oriented Policing. Ethics is important becuase if the trust relationship fails, everything else goes with it. And Community Oriented Policing is important because put simply we all share a role in the responsibility of public safety. One important thing we took away is that we should never feel like we are a burden to the police. Sometimes the call you make could be the missing piece of information that helps the department finish the puzzle of a crime and solve it. And quite often other crimes are related so more than one can be solved in many cases. He also expressed his gratitude for the Citizens for Assisting Police in Apex (CAPA) who were also volunteers at our Fish Fry again this year.
One of the things the department is working on is an accreditation process from the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). This is something that only 6% of the agencies in North Carolina have achieved but is a wonderful goal. It will provide an opportunity to get an unbiased external evaluation with suggestions for areas that could be improved and will challenge the department to improve to an even higher standard of excellence.
The Apex Police Department is also available on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Blogspot.
We also had the opportunity to present Officer Matt Mellenberger (pictured left) with a check for $1200 in support of the Apex Explorer Post. The Apex Explorer Post is one of three recipients of the proceeds from our Fish Fry in March which raised approximately $3600 in total. Previously we had donated $1000 for some uniforms and we got to see one of those uniforms on display this evening as well. The Apex Lions Club is very proud to support the Apex Police Department, the Apex Explorer Post and CAPA! We look forward to serving Apex with you for many years to come.