Small-town Policing
Minden discusses plans for growth in Bryant
After more than 21 years of experience, newly hired Bryant Police Chief Carl Minden knows a lot about law enforcement.
Minden’s father was a police officer, so he was surrounded by law enforcement his entire life, even though his father died when Minden was only 6 years old.
Along with working with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, Minden has worked as a state trooper and for the Jacksonville Police Department.
When he left the PCSO, Minden was the commander over administrative services and criminal investigations. During his career, he has been assigned to the patrol, training and specials divisions as well.
In all of these positions, Minden said the most important thing was people — both those he was serving and those he worked alongside.
Even though he enjoyed working for the PCSO, he is looking forward to working for a smaller department.
The PCSO covered seven cities and four school districts, so it was hard for the deputies to identify with one community.
In Bryant, Minden wants to be an active part of the community, including becoming involved with the Bryant School District.
He is proud of the robust school resource officer program the department has. Along with keeping the schools safe, the SROS are also building relationships with
students.
“Students know the officers … that’s what we need,” he said.
Minden added that the Bryant Police Department is a great progressive department that has continuously made improvements.
“The department has not set back on its heels,” Minden said.
Bryant is currently one of the top-10 safest cities in the state and Minden wants to continue that tradition.
“The city will continue to grow and we’re going to have to evolve with it,” he said.
To better protect Bryant residents, Minden is working on getting Narcan for officers to carry. This nasal spray can help stop the effects of an overdose to save lives. This week, if officers had the medication, they could have used it during two situations, according to Minden.
He calls the medication “a lifesaving tool we have to have.”
He also plans to enroll Bryant officers in more training opportunities. Even though officers are only required to have 16 hours of training each year, Minden would like officers to receive 40 to 80 hours.
“You always try to set the bar ... not go for the minimum,” Minden said.”you can never train too much.”
Currently, only Bryant school resource officers have body cameras. Minden and other city officials are looking into the possibility of expanding the cameras across the entire department.
Having worked for more than 20 years in Central Arkansas, Minden already knows many of the officers in Saline County and has a good working relationship with them. Minden has even worked security during the Salt Bowl for several years.
He plans to continue the working relationship between the several law enforcement agencies in Saline County.
Since being named chief las month, Minden said he has received lots of support from the community.
“I feel confident that as chief, Carl Minden will use the experience he is bringing to the office to recognize trends before they intrude in the day-to-day lifestyle of our residents, that he will remain a servant leader, placing the needs and priorities of our community first and continuing to grow the Bryant Police Department to meet future demands that a city like ours will place on their public safety officers,” Mayor Allen Scott said during the announcement.