Police Captain

City of Prairie Village Police Department

The City of Prairie Village is seeking a strategic, high-integrity leader to serve as Police Commander. This command-staff position is responsible for the comprehensive management of a major department division—Patrol, Investigations, or Staff Services—ensuring the safety of the community and the professional development of our personnel.

As a Commander, you will report directly to the Chief of Police, overseeing the daily operations and long-term strategic direction of your assigned division. You will serve as a bridge between executive leadership and field operations, ensuring that departmental goals are met through effective resource allocation and personnel supervision.

• Operational Leadership: Direct either the Patrol Division (including Traffic and K9) or the Investigations Division (including Detectives and School Resource Officers), or the Staff Services Division (including Dispatch, Records, Training and Hiring).
• Personnel Management: Mentor and evaluate commissioned officers and professional staff; oversee training, scheduling, and disciplinary processes.
• Strategic Planning: Develop division goals, propose budget items, and implement policies that anticipate future community needs.
• Quality Control: Ensure strict compliance with department rules; review use-of-force and pursuit reports; and investigate internal complaints.
• Community Engagement: Maintain strong public relations with citizens, the media, and partner government agencies.

• Expertise: Extensive knowledge of modern law enforcement principles, applicable laws, and emergency response procedures.
• Leadership: Proven ability to supervise diverse teams, solve complex problems, and make decisive judgments in high-pressure situations.
• Communication: Exceptional written and oral skills for report writing, public presentations, and internal briefings.
• Technical Proficiency: Skilled in the use of police equipment, firearms, and modern law enforcement software/technology.

• Schedule: Standard business hours with on-call availability after hours for emergencies and guidance.
• Environment: A mix of office-based administrative work and field-based operational monitoring.
• Physical: Must remain in good physical condition to perform law enforcement duties and handle occasional exposure to adverse weather and high-noise environments.

Completion of a bachelor’s degree in police science, law enforcement, criminal justice, public administration or related field from four-year college or university; eight years experience as a police officer; two which have been at the rank of sergeant at Prairie Village or two years experience at the rank of Captain or higher if hired from outside the Prairie Village Police Department.

Completion of basic law enforcement training academy.