GRANTS, N.M. – After turmoil struck the department, then lieutenant Jeff Marez stepped up and went to work, streamlining the way Grants Police Department operates. After several weeks as interim chief, Marez has officially become the Grants Police Chief. When he stepped in the role of interim chief, Marez understood the need for some fundamental changes to GPD. Focusing on viability and school safety, his first major changes included marking every police cruiser in the city and the prohibition of unmarked police cars, then he changed the department’s focus to ensure that - especially during the high-traffic school zone hours - each of Grants’ school had traffic enforcement and police presence.
Now as the official chief, Marez is looking to the future. The current operations of the department are not as streamlined and efficient as Marez thinks they should be. Currently, Marez is working to ensure that each squad in GPD is comprised of officers, a supervising sergeant, and a commanding lieutenant. The current system at GPD does not keep the department cohesive, despite this, officers and staff at the department have done their due diligence to pursue justice and safety of their community. “We have a great crew here,” Marez expressed, explaining that the new system will allow for a better operating schedule and increased coverage of the city. For his part, Chief Marez began work in law enforcement in 2002. While he hasn’t worked a consecutive 20 years in law enforcement, he has experienced the job with three departments: Grants Police Department, Milan Police Department, and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to 2018 he had been working at the area mine before coming onboard to Grants Police Department.
The return to GPD was a homecoming for Marez, who expressed his pride in serving the community. “The best part about the city is that we’re a small community. Even if you don’t know everyone directly, you can recognize their face or their car. It’s a great feeling to know the people you are serving,” he said.
“I never expected to be a police chief,” Marez explained, “I wasn’t aware of the [issues] the department had. I just thought it was a great opportunity to come back and serve.” After turmoil struck the department and the previous chief resigned from his duty, the opportunity to be chief arose. Being the highest-ranking officer in the department, who had earned the trust a fractured Grants City Council, Marez was made interim chief. After several weeks of holding on to an announcement, the City of Grants officially declared Marez the chief after he scored higher than every other candidate for the position. Marez beat out candidates from the city and greater New Mexico to earn the job.
Now that Marez is chief and in full control of the department, he has the ability to make fundamental changes necessary to save the city money and keeping the department running full force.
When he speaking with the Cibola Citizen when he first became interim chief, Marez explained that he wanted to work on getting the department back to a working order so that it could regain the trust of the community. Marez explained that just because there was no official chief, that didn’t mean the department could stop working. COVID-19 has posed nprecedented roadblocks to all forms of life, and the recent spike of Omicron in Cibola
County hit GPD particularly hard. Chief Marez works patrol almost every day, despite his administrative duties. During the recent wave of COVID that put several officers out of the job for a few weeks, Marez made no qualms of rolling up his sleeves and going to work.
Having started as a patrol officer and made is way up the ranks, Marez has a particular understanding of the various duties and responsibilities of the police department. His experience in law enforcement places him in a unique position to do the job of chief. Chief Marez begins his day at one in the morning to train and stay in fit condition, “After I’m done taking care of myself training wise, I come in early enough to check my emails, listen to my voicemails and check my phone calls. Whatever needs to be done,” the chief explained. Once he’s finished with housekeeping, Marez prepares for the morning briefing with his team, “I’m here for all my briefings, starting at o’clock in the morning.” At this point, Marez and his team go to street enforcement to keep the school zones and students of Grants safe. Marez wakes up so early not just for workout purposes, but it’s his time to destress and prepare himself for the day, calling it “my time.” After finally leaving work, the chief goes to spend time with his family, eats dinner, and goes to sleep around 7:30 p.m., allowing himself a full night of rest. This schedule only holds, however, when there is no emergency situation in the city. It is not uncommon to see the chief doing GPD work outside of this schedule when called upon.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes,” Chief Marez explained. In these changes, the biggest challenge he has faced is the evolution of society and their expectations of police officers. “I think for me, coming from patrol, all the way up to being chief, I’ve seen all the responsibilities and the liabilities we have. The challenges come with recruiting and maintaining staff when other agencies can offer more competitive wages. On top of all that, keeping up with the daily responsibilities can be challenge.” Marez continued, “It’s worth it because we can still serve out community.” Currently, Grants Police Department is not fully staffed, and is looking to build their team. The department and Chief Marez are seeking committed individuals that want to serve their community and catch bad guys in Grants. To pick up an application, visit Grants Police Department at 105 Roosevelt Avenue in the City of Grants.