By David Taylor / Managing Editor
GALENA PARK, Texas — Newly appointed Galena Park Police Chief Jason Adams says his first priority is rebuilding trust — inside the department and across the community he has called home for most of his life.
“I was born and raised in Galena Park,” Adams said in an interview with the North Channel Star.
“I was born in 1973 and I’ve lived here basically my whole life.”
Mayor Oscar Mireles appointed Adams in his first week in office, elevating a hometown officer with more than two decades in the department after years of turnover in the city’s top police post. The appointment drew loud applause from a packed council chamber at a special meeting, reflecting what appeared to be strong public support for a leader with deep local roots.
Adams said his connection to the city is personal as well as professional. He attended Galena Park schools before graduating from Mayde Creek High School in Katy, later studying at Houston Community College and earning his peace officer license. He joined the department full-time in October 2003.
“I never left,” Adams said.
Now leading the department, Adams said he wants to move away from what he described as an era of micromanagement and limited openness.
“This administration moving forward, we’re going to be very transparent,” he said. “We’re going to be open to the public. We’re going to talk to the people.”
That outreach has already started, he said, pointing to a recent community gathering at Dairy Queen where residents raised concerns about speeding, junk vehicles and neighborhood issues. Adams said visibility and communication will be central to his approach.
“I have highly encouraged the officers to — if it’s not late at night, they’re not busy — go inside,” Adams said of local businesses. “Be seen inside the businesses. Make yourself known. Make the community know, ‘Hey, there’s actually officers that care.’”
Adams also outlined steps the department is taking to improve safety in public spaces, including parks that have drawn concern after past violence. He said the department is enforcing a nighttime curfew and responding when an outside security company alerts dispatch to afterhours activity.
“The first part of it is to set a curfew, which we have,” Adams said. He added that officers are also conducting routine zone and business checks throughout the city. Adams pushed back on perceptions that crime is spiraling, saying Galena Park remains relatively safe.
“To be honest, crime here is not that bad,” he said. “It’s really not. Our statistics are fairly low.”While the city in recent years has not published or submitted crime statistics online or to the Texas Department of Public Safety Uniform Crime Reporting System, historical FBI Unified Crime Reporting (UCR) and National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) trends show manageable levels of both violent and property crime. NIBRS and UCR metrics indicate property-related offenses (such as vehicle theft or minor vandalism) and make up the bulk of incidents in the city aligning with typical trends for small-to-moderate Houston- area suburbs. Adams also said there were occasional jugging incidents at the bank ATMs, not necessarily stemming from local residents, but others who follow residents back into the city.Adams said response time remains one of the department’s strengths.
“Most everybody will tell you, ‘We love the service the police department’s giving us’ because we can be there within, you know, 20 seconds or 5-10 minutes.”
He also touts MOU’S (memorandums of understanding) with Jacinto City Police Chief Joe Ayala and Pct. 2 Constable Jerry Garcia who also aid in coverage when called upon. Pct. 2 SROs (school resource officers) during the summer extend their coverage outside of the schools and into the community, he said.
He also mentioned police tactics used during night patrol to actively catch criminals, but didn’t elaborate to protect officers cover.
Still, Adams said the department is working through operational and administrative hurdles left behind during the city’s transition. He cited problems with equipment, billing, access to systems and other infrastructure.
“We’ve got a lot to sift through,” Adams said. “It’s going to take some time. People want miracles to happen immediately. It’s not going to happen.”
Among his goals are rebuilding specialty programs and staffing up. Adams said the city is preparing to post a civil service exam in July as part of an effort to hire more officers, and he said the department is also exploring ways to strengthen traffic enforcement and longterm public safety funding.
For Adams, the job is not only about strategy or structure, it is also about serving a city that shaped him and his family for generations.
That legacy, Adams suggested, remains central to how he sees the work today: local, practical and rooted in service.
“Our number one goal here is — like I’m telling everybody — if you see something, say something,” Adams said. “Let us come investigate.”
061526 GPPoliceChief 01 – Jason Adams, a longtime Galena Park resident and 22-year veteran of the police department, has been named interim police chief under Mayor Oscar Mireles’ new administration. Adams said he hopes to strengthen the department and improve communication with the community.
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