BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (WJTV) – Brookhaven’s first appointed police chief is taking aim at violent crime.

Dustin Bairfield was sworn in as police chief on July 1 by newly-elected Mayor Larry Jointer. The mayor said the police department needs strong leadership and that hiring a professional chief is critical to public safety.

Bairfield brings 21 years of law enforcement experience and said he’s committed to cracking down on violent and gang-related crime.

With the mayor’s support, the department plans to apply for grants to fund new technology, including gunshot detection systems and drones. The new chief plans to hire more officers and boost patrols.

“If you’re just responding to calls, you’re not really preventing them. If you’re that short of manpower, and you’re just going to calls, then we’re not being on deterring them nor are we doing any community policing where our taxpayers get to know us. And I think that’s something that not only Brookhaven but probably nationwide should look at, which is get back to the basics,” Bairfield said.

“We’ve got to give them as many tools as they need to work with, and that’s the main thing. And then let them run to the police department. And I’m not a micromanager. And what we’ll do is allow the chief, assistant chief to actually operate the police department the way it should be operated,” said Jointer.

Veteran Brookhaven Officer Willie Gayten will serve as the assistant chief.