By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

Since Jacksonville Police Department officials first made the decision to add a detective to its Criminal Investigations Division, they knew they wanted to promote from within their own ranks.

After interviewing several interested members of the department, JPD leadership decided to promote patrol officer Javier Guerra to fill the new slot in CID. The change officially took place Saturday, and Guerra assumed his new duties Monday.

“We had five officers who applied for the position, and while they are all really good officers, we just felt that his (Guerra’s) experience would make him the best fit for that division,” said Police Chief Reece Daniel. “It was a hard decision, but I wanted someone with a longer tenure in law enforcement and a good grounding in patrol and in procedure. Out of the entire bunch who applied, Javier was the best choice.”

A member of law enforcement since 1985, Guerra has worked at JPD for the past five years, first as a drug officer and later on patrol. Prior to working here, Guerra practiced law enforcement in South Texas. He has been patrolling Jacksonville on the nightshift for the last three years.

In addition to his experience, Daniel said Guerra’s drive to learn and improve himself really distanced him from the other candidates for the job.

“There were two people who applied for the job who were very close in my opinion, but the thing that I think really set him apart was the fact that I have really seen him strive over the past couple of years to improve himself and his work product, and I was impressed by that,” he said.

The fact that Guerra is bilingual is expected to benefit CID greatly in investigations involving people who only speak Spanish.

Guerra said he is looking forward to moving into a different aspect of law enforcement. Although he admits he actually first got into the field on a dare, he said he has grown to love his work.

“The feeling of camaraderie and the satisfaction of doing something that is right come together to make this job something that you can’t experience anywhere else,” Guerra said. “I look forward to moving into my new job and learning all kinds of new things.”

Jacksonville’s newest detective said his promotion won’t affect the work he does with Jacksonville’s gangs.

“Working with the local gangs is something that I took over and started doing myself. I’ve just been trying to communicate with them and trying to keep them from having conflicts,” he said. “I talk to the young ones and try to tell them not to get involved in all the pitfalls that are involved in being in a gang and try to guide them in a direction other than violence.”

According to Guerra, while isolated incidents still occur, the gang problem in Jacksonville is nowhere near as bad now as it was three to five years ago.

Due to Guerra’s promotion, Detective Tonya Sonntag will finally be able to move into a new office as the city’s crime prevention officer. While she will still be conducting some investigations, Sonntag will be focusing more and more on crime prevention.

Daniel said Guerra will soon be attending basic investigator school and will also be receiving a lot of specialized training once it is determined what type of cases he is most interested in and best suited for.

“Training is a big issue with me, so we will certainly be going all-out to get him trained and comfortable in what he will be doing. Once we get him up-to-speed, I’m sure he will do a great job for the department in his new role,” Daniel said.