Capt. Joseph Jordan had been at his previous command in the Anne Arundel County Police northern district for about four years when he got the call earlier this month to make a move to southern district. He's been in the department for 24 years, and he figured it was time for a change.

"Every two to three years, you see a change, and  Maj. Tom Wilson decided it was time," Jordan said.

Jordan said he hasn't worked in the southern area for some time, but he is anxious to be hands on in the district. The change in leadership took effect last Thursday (Jan. 6) and Jordan said that he was looking forward to meeting with community leaders in the coming weeks.

Background

Jordan's father was a police officer, and he didn't really think about it as a career until he took a few criminal justice classes in college.

He began his early career as a seasonal (summertime) officer in Ocean City, MD, where he laughed (but wouldn't comment) when asked if he'd run into his share of Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi-types on the job. 

Then he worked with the U.S. Treasury Dept. Secret Service uniformed division in Washington, DC. But said he didn't really like the commute into the city.

"I was raised in Anne Arundel County since I was four years old—in the Pasadena area—so I came back here to work as a 911 call taker," Jordan said

He worked a stint for the county as a communications dispatcher, then in 1989 went to the police academy. He said he's had a variety of police jobs all over the county—he was a patrolman in the eastern district, he worked in vice and organized crime, conducted staff inspections, was adjutant in the chief's office and served five years as the county police public information officer.

He was working in northern in 2006, when he was promoted to acting captain of the district, and then in October of the same year earned the promotion to captain. 

The differences between the districts

Jordan said the northern district has a different flavor, "we border Baltimore city and county, and we had different challenges there. A lot more crime there than there tends to be in the southern end of the county. Not much rural, more urban, suburban—we have criminals that come across the county from Baltimore city to prey on citizens," Jordan said.

But some things are the same. Jordan noted the intent to work with the community on quality of life issues. In northern, Jordan had his patrolmen be hands-on dealing with zoning issues and abandoned vehicles.

"These quality of life issues can affect crime," Jordan said.

They were also busy with accident enforcement and traffic issues. 

"We identified intersections, targeting red light runners to try to cut down on accidents," Jordan said.

Jordan said he will be looking at the same sorts of issues in southern, but that some things require the public's help. 

"One of the major issues is theft from autos. We have folks leaving things out in plain site, doors unlocked. We do a lot of campaigns—put out a lot of literature. It is a national trend. We have larger parking lots. We will be patrolling those parking lots, but we can’t encourage people enough not to leave purses or laptops in plain view. Lock your cars," Jordan said.

This was an important educational area for former southern district Capt. William "Bill" Krampf as well.

"Bill's done an excellent job here, and I want to build on his accomplishments," Jordan said.

Like Krampf, Jordan said he will miss the people he worked with in his previous post. "I can’t say enough about the men and women I worked with."

Jordan has a slightly smaller staff in southern, but a much wider geographic area.

The area includes the Annapolis Mall and Parole-area shopping centers and runs all the way to the Calvert and Prince Georges county lines.

Jordan's first order of business is to get out and meet community leaders. He said that he has worked closely with Krampf for a long time and will utilize him wherever he can. 

"Our careers have mirrored each other," Jordan said.

To that end, Krampf and Jordan will get together at 7 p.m. Jan. 20 at the next Community Relations Committee meeting at the southern district station. The public is invited to meet Jordan and share concerns about police and safety issues at that time.

"I am looking forward to working down here," Jordan said. "It is a great staff, and I am looking forward to working with them."