Longboat Key police chief outlines department goals at Kiwanis Club meeting

Several well-known figures from Longboat Key and surrounding areas took part in the Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key's meeting on July 20.

Michael Garey, president of the Kiwanis Club, hosted the breakfast meeting at the Lazy Lobster. Garey invited Longboat Key Police Chief George Turner to be this month’s speaker. Turner has been a recurring speaker at Kiwanis meetings throughout his time as chief on Longboat.

Photo by Petra Rivera

Before introducing Turner, Garey held a brief lesson on how to identify scammers, specifically through emails, since this is a major problem that has been affecting the U.S. for some time now.  

“My biggest hurdle here has been recruitment and retention,” said Turner while speaking to the Kiwanis Club. “For years, we always hired retired officers, but the only thing about that is they don't stay that long. They stay three, four or five years and then they want to really retire. And then we always have openings.”

Turner became the police chief of Longboat Key in March of 2022. He was sworn in as a police officer in 1977 in New York and worked for the New York Police Department for 25 years. In 2001, he became a captain on Longboat, staying for six years. He then worked for the U.S. Marshals Service in Fort Myers and was also the chief in Brooksville for 11 years before coming back to Longboat. 

Turner explained that his goal is to get the department back to about 20 officers who each have eight or nine years of experience and are committed to staying in Longboat for a while. 

Accreditation is also an important goal for Turner, especially with his past experience in the NYPD and Brooksville. He shared with the club that it has been a time-consuming process but will ensure accountability and transparency throughout the department. The department’s first mock review by the state will be in November and the final review is in December. Turner said that he hopes the department will receive accreditation in February. 

“There's a lot of checks and balances that come with that, there's 285 standards in the accreditation process,” said Turner. “It's not us proving to us that we're doing the right thing. It's the state of Florida, and other agencies coming in, looking at us and making sure that we're doing it not only in driving, but also in arrests and how we prosecute, how we investigate crimes, how we provide public safety initiatives.”

Photo by Petra Rivera

After his presentation, Kiwanis Club members shared their questions and ideas. They focused on their desire to get to know new officers and being able to trust them as a part of the community. 

Town Commissioner Gary Coffin and his wife are new members of the Kiwanis Club and were excited for their first meeting. Talha Siddique and his wife Kristen Truong were visiting from the Bradenton Kiwanis Club. Siddique is running for county commissioner in District 3 of Manatee County. 

Longboat Kiwanis meetings are held monthly until September, at which point they are held bi-monthly for the duration of the season.

“We usually have very interesting speakers. We try to have them at least pertain to the town,” said Garey. “I definitely take input from the members. I think this is the third time (Turner) has spoken to our group over the years. He is definitely one of the popular ones.”