Des Moines, IOWA — In an email to Department of Public Safety (DPS) personnel announcing changes within the department, Commissioner K. Brian London stated, “Organizations evolve and change over time. It is my goal to ensure any change made at DPS is executed with the best interests of the citizens of Iowa as the central motivating factor. I know these changes meet this criterion.”
In keeping with that philosophy, Commissioner London announced the following changes that take effective today.
Colonel Patrick J. Hoye of the Iowa State Patrol (ISP) will be re-assigned as head of the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB). This will allow the department to leverage Hoye’s leadership to fill a void that has existed in GTSB. While Colonel, Hoye was instrumental in reducing traffic fatalities and narrowed the Patrol’s focus on drunk driving. Hoye has demonstrated his ability to build relationships with local agencies through his passion for traffic safety and vigorous enforcement. This will serve him well in the new position.
Dave Garrison, a 23 year veteran of the Department of Public Safety, will assume the role of Colonel of the Iowa State Patrol. Colonel Garrison’s lengthy experience in the field includes serving as a road Trooper in southwest Iowa, and later a Trooper Pilot in Des Moines. In 1998, Garrison was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, serving as the Departments Public Information Officer. In 2000 Garrison was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Since that time, Garrison has served in a variety of leadership roles that include commander of the ISP Vehicle Theft Unit, Governors Security Detail, District Commander for the Capitol Complex and most recently in the Department’s Professional Standards Bureau. Colonel Garrison is considered an effective leader within DPS, completing Drake University’s Certified Public Manager’s course, Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police Leadership in Police Organizations training course.
In addition to the changes within the Division of the Iowa State Patrol, Commissioner London announced adjustments to the Department’s organizational structure which requires the appointment of personnel to key leadership positions. Those appointments include Chari Paulson as Director of the Division of Criminal Investigation, Ray Reynolds as Director of the State Fire Marshal Division, Steven DeJoode as Director of the Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and James Saunders as Director of the Division of Intelligence/Fusion Center.
Commissioner London states, “This new organizational structure will allow each component of the department to focus on their respective missions while at the same time create a more efficient structure to provide public safety services to the citizens of Iowa.”
