By Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
February 26, 2014

Major Rick Smith has been with the Kansas City Police Department since 1988. Recently, he was promoted to Major of the department’s East Patrol Division after serving as tactical commander for the past three years.

During his time with the department, Smith has also served in robbery, homicide, was an East Patrol watch commander and conducted special projects for the chief. Although he’s been in different divisions, he said he likes being out and doing cop jobs. Smith also believes that the work of the police department can’t be done alone.

“I like having community involvement,” Smith said. “I’m a big believer that this is a partnership between the community and the police.”

As the new Major, Smith said he’d like to involve different initiatives into the routine of the East Patrol, such as more foot patrol.

“I know the foot beat had a lot of popularity with residents and neighborhood groups,” Smith said. However, he may not have the feet just yet to get such an initiative started.

“We’re having trouble keeping our cars full,” Smith said, adding he’s going to have to wait to see where he can make changes. “We gotta make sure we cover our responsibilities.”

Smith said he’s glad to be with the East Patrol.

“We have hard working officers here,” Smith said. “The guys and gals help each other out and it’s a great approach to community policing.”