Promotional Opportunities
The Brea Police Department offers promotional opportunities for officers wishing to attain supervisory or command level positions within the department. While all police departments offer some form of promotional positions, the Brea Police Department differs in the manner in which we make selections for promotion. With each promotional opening, the department builds the selection process by seeking input and preferences from members of the organization at all levels, including input from the promotional candidates themselves. With the constant change that continually occurs in police work and law enforcement organizations, promotional processes must be reviewed and tailored so that the best candidates are identified for each position. The department’s history of collaborative promotional process building does that.
The following are the promotional opportunities that are periodically available within the Brea Police Department:
Chief of Police
The Brea Chief of Police commands a department of 165 full and part-time employees, 108 of which are sworn, full-time police officers. In addition to those responsibilities, the Police Chief is a member of the city’s Executive Management Team, joining in a collaborative effort with other city departments designed to create a positive environment for Brea’s employees, as well as the city’s residents and business owners.
The Brea Chief of Police position typically has been appointed from within the ranks of the Police Department. The last four Chiefs had all been long-time Brea officers at the time of appointment, including current Police Chief, Michael J. Messina.
Police Captain
The department employs three Police Captains, each one a Commander of either the Uniform or Investigative Division, or the Yorba Linda Liaison. Captains as Division Commanders, administer the overall operations of their division, providing resources and support for Lieutenants and Sergeants who oversee the day to day operations. They manage the department’s operating budget, working closely with other city staff.
The Yorba Linda Liaison is the City of Brea’s primary representative with the City of Yorba Linda, which has contracted its police services from Brea for over thirty years. This Captain works directly with the City of Yorba Linda in assessing and meeting their policing needs.
Police Lieutenant
The department has Lieutenants assigned to the Uniform Division as Patrol Watch Commanders. Lieutenants oversee the day to day operations of Patrol and Traffic Officers, ensuring the availability of resources and managing major incidents as they occur within either city. Lieutenants also have ancillary duties, such as supervising the department’s Field Training Program, coordinating the Police Reserve Officer unit, and managing Grant Funding.
Police Sergeant
Police Sergeants are the first line supervisors in all areas of the department, from Patrol to Traffic, and from Investigation to Professional Standards. Patrol Sergeants work shift schedules with teams of patrol officers. They handle field supervision of significant incidents, coordinate training, and conduct performance reviews and evaluations with officers. Traffic Sergeants supervise officers who conduct motorcycle traffic enforcement as well as commercial enforcement officers. Traffic Sergeants ride take-home motorcycles during their course of duty.
Investigation Sergeants provide supervision of detectives in all areas of investigation from Homicide to Property Crimes, as well as in Narcotics Enforcement. These Sergeants manage the assignment of cases for investigation, and coordinate and supervise surveillance. An Investigation Sergeant also supervises the department’s Threat Management Unit, which investigates and assesses threats against people and property. A Sergeant is also assigned to the Professional Standards Unit/Press Information Officer. The Sergeant in this position handles all press relations, investigates allegations of misconduct by department employees, and also supervises the department’s School Resource Officers.
Records Supervisor
The Brea Police Department has a large Police Records unit made up of full-time and part-time, non-sworn Records Technicians. This unit is tasked with managing all records generated by the Police Department, including crime reports, citations, and evidence. The Records Supervisor provides front line supervision to the Records and Property Technicians. As the department’s official Custodian of Records, the Records Supervisor receives comprehensive training on statutory requirements on the maintenance and destruction of records, crime statistic reporting requirements, and on the usage of state and federal information systems.
Dispatch Supervisor
The Brea Police Department manages a group of Emergency Dispatchers, who also provide dispatching services for the Brea Fire Department. Dispatchers play a vital role in the provision of quality police services. Dispatchers provide important public and officer safety information to field personnel and coordinating a number of officers at one or more major incidents at once. Dispatchers also answer 911 phone calls, provide public information, and operate criminal information systems. The Dispatch Supervisor oversees this multi-tasking, providing resources and support to Dispatchers, as well as obtaining and implementing the latest in public safety dispatch technology.
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