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We certainly have a certain segment of the population that still feel law enforcement as their calling . When I first tested to work for the police department we had nearly 100 people show up , now we are lucky to get 10 or 15 .
The veteran police chief started with the Huntsville Police Department in 1982 at the ripe age of 19 . He spent three years as a patrol officer and was then transferred to the criminal investigative division , and eventually a sergeant . In 2010 , Lunsford was appointed as the interim police chief and then three months after , the position became permanent .
“ It certainly happens , but it ’ s not necessarily the norm ,” Lunsford said about spending his entire career with one department . “ It has certainly been good for me , because when you ’ ve been in one place for over 38 years , you have a lot of history with the community and you know who works where .”
The world of police work has changed dramatically over Lunsford ’ s career though , which was a 28 officer staff when he started . The Huntsville Police Department currently employees 60 officers , which includes specialised units such as SWAT and drug enforcement .
However , the biggest change for Lunsford has been with the increased technology that officers are required to use .
“ When I first started our patrol cars had a radio and a toggle switch for the light bar . Now , we have computers in the cars , cam-
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eras in the cars and body cameras . The only computer we had at the department when I started was at dispatch ,” he noted . All of that technology is great , but it comes at a cost .”
Lunsford also noted that it has become increasingly difficult to hire new law enforcement officers .
“ We certainly have a certain segment of the population that still feel law enforcement as their calling ,” he said . “ But , when I first tested to work for the police department we had nearly 100 people show up , now we are lucky to get 10 or 15 . The standards are higher , as they should be , but the climate that we are experiencing in this country causes some potential applicants to pause and wonder if this is the career choice that they want to go in .”
The Huntsville department does , however , gain major advantages with its proximity to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Sam Houston State University .
“ Every police chief in the state has to come to Huntsville for some of their state training , so we get a lot of exposure that way ,” Lunsford said . “ But more than anything , the criminal justice college at the university has turned into a feeding system , and we are able to get a lot of officers through the program .”
18 | HUNTSVILLE LIVING | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2020