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Chief Riley Loves Oro Valley
Kara Riley has lived in Oro Valley for 18 years. She's grown to love our community, not just in her capacity as a member of our police force, but as a mom and every day resident. We asked her why she wanted the job of chief.
"It came down to two things: The love of this community because I’ve been ingrained in it for so long. I love every aspect of it-the schools, the churches, a great community where people waive at us. And the fact that I have had 16 years of working with the finest men and women, both civilian and sworn, in the law enforcement profession in the nation. It’s all about the people."
Riley told us she was humbled when she learned that she had been selected as the third police chief in Oro Valley's history. She feels humbled to represent our sworn officers.
"I wish you knew what I knew in reference to the men and women of this agency. If you knew them, you would be humbled too because they are the best."
"I hear them every day. I wear a uniform. I have my radio on. I have a marked unit. I check on every morning like they do. I do traffic stops. I do sometimes go to calls with them. I hear them. I hear their efforts. They work hard. They do that extra check when it comes to public service. We continue to provide a service that meets the community’s expectations and then some."
Community service and outreach is #1
Chief Riley believes that the police force exists to provide outstanding community service; Even if that means picking up a garbage can for someone who can't! To her that means the officers are going the extra mile. “There is never a complaint" on the part of the officer, she related. “They love this community. They have a sense of ownership. Pride.”
Riley wants the residents of our community to be comfortable with our police officers. “It’s why we do all of our community outreach. We want people to be comfortable with us...I think it’s important for people to not have surprises.” She wants people to call the police even if it's something that they feel is small. As she put it: "..if they’re comfortable with us in the beginning already, then they are not going to hesitate to call us when something really bad is going on.”
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Next week we will discuss Riley's three core focus areas as she begins her new job.
