The Guymon Police Department is going through a few changes these days. Old faces are turning up in new places, and one familiar face has returned to the department.

"The changes we have made are designed to create a clear structure and organizational flow that will allow future growth to be handled effectively as well as create an environment where current officers can be improved and ultimately provide better service to the citizens of Guymon," said Guymon Police Chief Eddie Adamson.

Among the changes:
•  Michael Arndt was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and will work under Operations Captain Michael Babb to oversee the Patrol Division, which includes the uniformed officers out on the street, dispatch and 911 operations."Lt. Arndt has been working closely with dispatch since November and has been handling the day-to-day supervision and guidance of the dispatchers and will now be supervising them as well as the uniform patrol division which includes the four patrol sergeants and the officers under them on the sifts," Adamson said.

•  Chad Mussman has returned to the department after a short absence. Mussman fills Arndt's old position."Chad Mussman had been a seargeant in the department in the past and had left for other employment in December," Adamson said. "He did a great job for us before and I am sure he will continue to be an asset to the patrol division."

•  Officer Cassidy Francis was promoted to the rank of detective and will be working under Lt. Detective Jason Bond in the criminal investigation division helping handle major crimes and investigations."Lt. Bond has been doing a great job but has been overloaded with cases and having someone else in the CID will allow more followups and investigations to be handled by them," Adamson said.

•  Officer Mike Adams has been named training officer to coordinate training and serve as accreditation manager for the department in its pursuit of accreditation through the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation and Professional Standards Program. "We selected officer Mike Adams who came to work for us after spending some time overseas doing a police mission in Iraq because of his experience in training and also his experience in setting up police programs," Adamson said. "Our pursuit of accreditation is a major task but we have faith that he will not only be able to handle that task but also coordinate training for our officers so we can develop them into the best staff of officers possible."

Adamson said the goal with the changes is to make the department more effective and efficient.

"Our hopes are to add at least one more position as a Uniformed CID Officer/Community Liaison Officer to help CID with follow ups and provide crime prevention tips for victims of burglasies or other crimes after they are reported in the near future," Adamson said. "But right now staffing does not allow for us to fill that position. Like any other department in the country, we would love to add more officers to the department but we have to work within our budget.

"The changes we have made will help us work more efficiently and effectively with the staff we currently have but is also sets the framework for any staff we may be able to add to the department in the future."