Sikeston DPS training new officer to give information to public

SIKESTON, MO. -- Sikeston Department of Public Safety is adding a new face to relay information to the public.

In the coming months, officer Evelyn Aceves will undergo training to become Sikeston DPS' newest public information officer.

"We see the addition of officer Aceves as a public information officer being a valuable tool to help us get our message out to the public -- whether it be our daily operations, concerns in the community or other issues that we want to relay to the public," Sikeston DPS assistant chief Jim McMillen said.

The public information program is about building relationships, he said.

"We know if we can build those bridges and relationships in the good times that when the bad times happen, we'll have that bridge to help us deal with it together. If we wait until the bad times to communicate, we've messed up," he said.

So, when McMillen recently approached Aceves about training to be a public information officer, she said she was definitely interested.

"I do agree; I don't think we should be seen only whenever bad things happen," Aceves said. "I would rather be part of the department growing. I know people watch us, and I want them to know we're pretty involved."

The 25-year-old California native moved from San Diego to Sikeston about two years ago. In 2018, the former restaurant owner decided to join the police academy after a simple conversation with her daughter, who is now 8 years old.

"I asked my daughter: 'Hey, what are you thinking of being when you grow up?'" Aceves said. "She said, in her own words: 'I want to be a cop, but that's only for boys.'"

Aceves set out to prove her daughter wrong. In August, she was hired by Sikeston DPS as a public safety officer.

Aceves said she knows it's not common to see a female officer, and she's often asked from adults and children alike: "Are you a lady cop?" She just smiles and says: "Yes, I am."

Aceves said she wants to connect with the community, especially with children.

"I think it starts with the kids first, and they see a lot growing up, and they notice things," she said.

She wants children to feel comfortable with law enforcement and for them to know police officers are people, too.

"Generally speaking, we think it's the open-communicative nature of that which helps information flow back and forth through the community to which we serve, so we want to continue that," McMillen said.

DPS has also used its public information program on numerous occasions to gather information from the public, solve crimes and work investigations, he said.

McMillen said former DPS chief Drew Juden implemented a public information program in 2007. At the time, McMillen was a new sergeant when Juden asked him to serve as the public information officer.

"At the time, departments weren't really doing that around here. I guess he was looking at some of the bigger departments that were doing it, and he saw some value in it," McMillen said of Juden.

Benefits to the program were visible almost immediately, McMillen said.

"It did not take us long for us see that it was very valuable for our agency, and it really got the perspective of the officers and the department out to the public -- what we were dealing with and the issues we were having, and it's no longer 'Sikeston DPS,' but it is an officer routinely talking to the community," McMillen said.

McMillen noted the department having a public information program is also somewhat self-serving because it does help solve cases. That's what DPS wants to do: serve the community better, he said.

"Let's face it. We can't do our job without the community's input," McMillen said. "You imagine a community that doesn't talk to the police; it's a dangerous place. We need that and we're willing to put effort and try various things to try to cultivate that and establish that relationship that we need to have."

McMillen said, there are several DPS officers, including himself, chief Mike Williams, Capt. Austin Henley and Lt. Jon Broom, who began working as the department's public information officers long before they were at their current ranks.

McMillen recalled when he was a sergeant, he had more time to devote to the program, and he thought it worked better because of that.

As a result, DPS looked for a young officer who has a good personality and demeanor to communicate for the department and be its spokesperson in different events of the department, McMillen said.

"She has a really positive, pleasant personality. She's a hard worker," McMillen said of Aceves. "She gets along with not only her co-workers but the community -- and that's why we selected her."

The idea of starting with an officer who is not a supervisor or has not really started a career path is if they are successful and enjoy this program, then this could be a good career path for them, he said.

However, DPS has no intention of pulling Aceves from regular patrol, fire duties or other avenues she wants to experience, McMillen said.

"The more that she experiences, the better she will be at her job as an information officer," McMillen said.

McMillen said the department knows it will take a while for Aceves to build relationships in the community and media, just as some of them have done in the past. The training will also take time, he said.

"We want to try to get this program where it needs to be and have more regular communication to help the overall communication with the community," McMillen said. "The more we're out there reaching out, obviously, the more we're going to get back."