AKRON, Ohio — Detective Alan Jones recently retired after 33 years with the Akron Police Department. As a lifelong Akron native, he has spent just about his entire life protecting the community he grew up in.
He served many roles with the police department, notably as a K-9 officer for more than a decade. He has been a local youth football coach and served as a liaison between the department and the local schools.
But this year, he has a new title.
Jones will now be the safety and security director for Akron Public Schools. It's a role he says gives him those back-to-school jitters.
“The staff has been very supportive in trying to get me to be acclimated to what I’m supposed to be doing," Jones said. "Actually, coming from a law enforcement background into the educational is a little different. It will get a whole lot better once school gets back in session and really get into the meat of what I’m supposed to be doing.”
That day is Thursday, Aug. 29.
In the past, there have been tensions between teenagers in the community and police. Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said he'd like to bridge the gap between both sides.
“I believe that this role that I’m in is going to help do that. Some of our teens just don’t get along with law enforcement, or see them as a negative. But our SRO officers that are in the building, get to know the students. They get a little bit more personal with the students and whatnot. It helps to kind of bridge that gap, letting them know that we’re here to help more than to try and bring them down.”