“I want them to know police are their friend” | Marshallville’s new police chief wants to focus on building relationships

MARSHALLVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Marshallville will soon have its first female police chief.

Patricia Barber served as a deputy for Peach County for 26 years. For the last five years, she has worked part time at the Marshallville Police Department.

“At my age, it’s kind of like your kid going away to college for the first time,” Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese said. “You’re kind of concerned and nervous because you’re not going to be there to protect them.”

While at the Peach County Sheriff’s Department, Barber served as a criminal investigator and was part of the D.A.R.E program. In 2005, Sheriff Deese hired her as a full-time C.H.A.M.P.S instructor and a SRO supervisor in the Peach County School system.

Barber says her colleagues at Peach County prepared her for the new position.

“They were hard on me when they needed to be and whatever I needed they were always there to help me to make me grow,” she said. “They didn’t hold punches and so because of that, it made me a better deputy and now I’ll be a better chief.”

Barber says she wants to focus on building relationships between the community and officers, to let kids know, you don’t need to be afraid of police.

“I want them to know that we’re their friend more so than anything else and once you start implementing the community oriented mindset with the kids in the community, I think we can change the mindset of people,” Barber said.

In Marshallville, she’s helped with community initiatives like “Candy with a Cop” and “Cupcake with a Cop.”

As for her students in Peach County Schools, she’s not leaving them behind.

“I plan to stay in their life because I told them I’m going to watch you walk across that stage, so failure is not an option,” Barber said.

Her appointment ceremony is Friday at 6 p.m. in the court room at the Public Safety Complex in Marshallville.