After a few months on the job, Robert Banks already has set some goals he’s sure to see the Fairview Police Department reach.

“We want to truly be a professional department,” the new chief proclaimed. “I want to run this department like a business, with the community as our customers.

“We want to be a community-oriented police department. We’re embracing that community spirit.”

The improvements Banks has in the works range from updating the department’s Web site to updating the polices and procedures to seeing a skate park built for the kids of Fairview.

The aspirations are pointed toward achieving professional accreditation, a tough goal for police departments. But Banks wants to give the people of Fairview a department that serves their needs, as well as the community’s.

“Fairview is a jewel of northwest Oklahoma,” Banks said. “I want them (the community) to feel like they have a say. I want them to feel like they have input. I want us to be a benchmark.”

Hired Dec. 31, Banks has done some research about the previous chiefs, which he plans to create an area to hang their names and photos for all to see.

“When you come into the lobby you’ll have a little bit of history,” he said of displaying the department’s chiefs.

“The longest one was chief for almost 10 years,” Banks said. “My goal is to be Fairview’s police chief for more than that. I want to be the longest-running chief that Fairview has ever had.”

Originally from Oklahoma City, Banks has a military and law enforcement background. He served four years in the Navy and began in law enforcement as a reserve officer for the Waukomis Police Department.

There he earned a the reserve officer of the year award during his first year. Banks spent three more years in Waukomis and worked for eight years with Enid Police Department.

Banks worked in the traffic division as an investigator and reconstructed fatal accidents.

“Enid taught me a lot,” he said.

Banks spent the last year in the Atoka Police Department as both an officer and a lake ranger before he replaced the previous the interim chief, Capt. Jeff Starkey. Hank Weber, who Starkey was filling in for, had taken a a job as Blanchard’s police chief.

In the few months he’s been chief, Banks has already seen a few projects come to fruition.

He wanted a new graphics package for all the department’s patrol cars, and now the new look can be seen on two 2006 police-package Impala cruiser. The cars are outfitted with a low-profile light bar, something done by members of the department, which saved the department some money.

“It was just a few hours here and there after hours,” Banks said.

As well as replacing aging patrol cars, the new Impala cruisers have also cut fuel costs for the department. Banks would soon like to see all the patrol cars fitted with dash-cams, for both the officers and the citizens.

“It’s a record of the stop that is an unbiased third-party,” he said. “It will protect both the officers and the citizens.”

With six full-time officers and 15 reserve officers, Banks will spend some of his time out patrolling, even working a night-time shift.

“I’m not going to have my officers do something I wouldn’t do,” he said. “I succeed through the efforts of the people who work here. We’re one big family serving a common goal.”

While Banks’ goals for the department run from lofty to already achieved, he sees everything he wishes to accomplish and is willing to except more goals.

“We really want to be that police department everyone looks at and be a source of pride for the community,” Banks said of his ultimate goal for the department.

“I love this job.”