On her 20^th year of service, Cmdr. Adele “Heidi” Frese is saying goodbye to the Corpus Christi Police Department. She has been selected as the chief of police for Greenfield, in Monterey County, California.  Cmdr. Frese held a variety of assignments with the department including patrolling the north and west side of the city, implementing the first Campus Crime Stoppers programs at each of the five school districts and in recent years served as the commanding officer of patrol, support services, and narcotics and vice investigations. Cmdr. Frese is probably known best for her community policing philosophy, support of youth programs, and belief that community engagement offers the best solutions for street crime and neighborhood problem solving. She is the first woman officer to attain the rank of commander and will be the first woman police chief at her next department.

We wish Cmdr. Frese all the best on her next chapter in law enforcement.

From the Greenfield, CA city website Press Release:

Commander Fresé brings extensive experience and training as the City’s new Police Chief.  She holds a Master of Science in Public Safety from Capella University Minneapolis, MN; a Master of Arts from Boston University’s Senior Management Institute for Police, Police Executive Research Forum; is a Certified Public Manager from Texas A & M University; holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, with a specialization in Law Enforcement; Minor in Sociology at California State University, Hayward.  Specialized certification and training include Comparative Criminal Justice and Policing Management and Leadership Program, International Police; Programs at the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT); Master  Peace Officer, TCLEOSE; Lemit’s Leadership Inventory for Female Executives (LIFE); Dale Carnegie’s Leadership Training; Certified Public Manager (CPM); Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) Certification; Crime Prevention Inspector Certification and Instructor Certification, TCLEOSE.

Commander Fresé has been with the City of Corpus Christi Police Department since 1994 and has extensive law enforcement experience in various areas in public safety. Early in her career, as a Senior Patrol Officer she directed patrol officers, crime prevention officers, the Campus Crime Stoppers program and undercover operators. She was also responsible for the successful implementation  of first Crime Stoppers program at all 5 Corpus Christi school districts and garnered support by collaborating with school superintendents, principals staff, and media to create what became an award winning program in her community.

As a night Patrol Lieutenant, Commander Fresé managed patrol shifts ranging from 10 to 20 officers and was responsible for managing patrol, walking a beat, bicycle, and prisoner transporters in the Downtown Area Command.  As a result of her management, officers under her command were responsible for 67% of all DUI arrests throughout the City in one year.  As a Special Operations Lieutenant, Commander Fresé directed and worked with community groups to develop strategies to combat crime, managed and created effective and efficient responses to crime for deployment of Directed Patrols, an Enduro Unit, and Crime Prevention Specialists.  She was also responsible for the design and execution of numerous neighborhood surveys and problem-solving models to address crime and improve quality of life.

As a Support Services Division Manager, Commander Fresé was responsible for managing department’s Communication Dispatch Center with an $8.1 million budget with a staff of 120 employees whose primary objective was to provide excellent dispatch and communications for all City Police, Sheriff Deputies, Constables, City and Volunteer Fire Departments and EMS serving a population of over 325,000. During her time managing this unit, she conducted research to improve the management and delivery of services by this Dispatch Center to increase efficiency, reduce overtime  expense, and improve morale, training, and retention of employees. Commander  Fresé  was  responsible for the delivery of a high volume and wide range of support services to the community, the implementation of the Department’s Volunteers in Policing, publishing a volunteer and supervisor guidebook and establishing a Wellness and Fitness program for all sworn and non-sworn employees.

As the Department’s Narcotics and Vice Investigations Commander, she was responsible for redirecting the Division’s effort to target street conspiracy-level drug activity resulting in a significant increase in arrests. Her accomplishments include pursuing narcotics leads with gang members involved in the distribution of drugs resulting in a 50% increase in drug related arrests of known gang members in a 10 month period;  directing the safe execution of 111 drug warrants in a 10 month period; serving on and contributing to the Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)Board.   During her tenure, she carried out collateral duties as a Hurricane Logistics Chief, Wellness Committee Chair, Peer Support Commander, Awards Committee Chair and Awards Event Coordinator for her Department. As a result of her efforts, she strengthened relationships with public safety partners, effectively networking with County Sheriff, U.S. Border Patrol, DPS, DEA, and Federal Probation.

As a Patrol Division Commanding Officer, Ms. Fresé managed a $35 million dollar budget while providing leadership and direction to seven captains whose objective was to maintain order through the effective deployment of 270 sworn Police Officers and support personnel throughout the City of Corpus Christi. As Commander, she exercised  functional supervision over officers engaged in patrol, directed patrol, traffic enforcement,and accident investigation throughout the entire city and presented weekly productivity reports to the Police Chief and her City Manager, and provided leadership to city-wide crime prevention efforts while synthesizing community policing philosophy with intelligence and lead policing strategies.  As Commander of this Unit, Ms. Fresé oversaw all Emergency Response Units, including SWAT, Dive, HNT, and Bomb Technicians. She provided leadership to  the Peer Support Team as the unit’s Commander.

As a Police Administration Commander, she has managed the Personnel Development Division which includes Training, CALEA, and major projects, and directed the hiring process, including recruitment, background investigations, and applicant processing. In this capacity, she has overseen the career development of all sworn and non-sworn members of the Department, directed the effective operations of the in-service training,Police Academy, and pistol range, and instituted a paid Police Cadet Program targeting high school  and college age students.

Ms. Fresé is expected to begin her service to the community once her P.O.S.T. background is complete and the City approves an employment agreement. I know her entire family is excited about moving to Monterey County and becoming a part of our Greenfield Community.

As you can tell, while I alone as City Manager will be making this appointment and am responsible for the ultimate management of City services, the appointment of Police Chief was a critical process that involved extensive community participation.  The appointment of Commander Fresé as our next Police Chief was a consensus decision by the members of this entire City organization.