Former Clearwater Officer Heading New Port Richey Police

Lt. James Steffens, who started with the New Port Richey police in May, was born in St. Petersburg and raised in east central Clearwater. He wanted to join the military or go into fire rescue or police work.

He wound up as community police officer with Clearwater Police Department on the streets of North Greenwood in 1988, when crack cocaine was an “epidemic,” he said.

He was stationed with the North Greenwood Neighborhood Patrol Team.

The beat was dangerous, and the police were “in reactive mode” at first. A Clearwater substation that had been set up in the area in North Greenwood in 1985 with the help of an $89,000 Community Development Block Grant. The substation and increased police force were initially met with much resistance, according to the Clearwater Police Department Web site.

Then officers began getting out of their cars and into the neighborhoods, Steffens said. They patrolled on foot and bike. They worked with residents, churches and community service organizations. In 1994, Steffens' team was awarded Pinellas County's highest law enforcement honor, the Allen Moore Gold Badge Award.

Steffens, a member of the Clearwater SWAT team since 1991, worked as a burglary/grand theft and robbery/homicide detective with the criminal investigations division for two years. He was made sergeant and placed in charge of the North Greenwood Neighborhood Patrol Team in 1997.

In 1996, Clearwater was deisgnated as part of the U.S. Department of Justice-funded Weed and Seed program, which aims to fight violent crime, drug abuse and gang activity in high-crime neighborhoods. North Greenwood, South Greenwood and Old Clearwater Bay and, later, the city's downtown "gateway" were designated as Weed and Seed communities.

The North Greenwood Patrol team was a key component of the program in North Greenwood.

In a command position, Steffens continued the department’s regular reverse sting undercover drug operations, similar to the six-month undercover drug sweeps conducted in Pasco County. He worked with the state Department of Juvenile Justice to enforce curfew.

In addition to keeping the law, the team worked with social programs, such as the Prenatal and Early Childhood Nurse Home Visitation Program conducted by the Pinellas County Department of Health, according to the Clearwater police Web site.

Steffens was promoted to lieutenant in 2001 and the operations commander of the department’s west district starting in 2006.

"I got to see the evolution of the area" over two decades, he said.

“It was pretty cool,” he said.

In January 2009, when he earned a salary of $93,235, Steffens retired from the Clearwater police force. He took a 20-year retirement package and went to work in the private sector and spend time with his family. He has lived in Pasco County for the past nine years, he said.

Steffens was hired at the New Port Richey Police Department to fill the lieutenant of operations job, which supervises patrols and policing activities, including the department's new . His first day on the job in New Port Richey was May 1, and he was sworn in May 17. His salary is $68,000.

Take a look at Steffens’ history, pulled from the Clearwater Police Department records and Steffens' bio:

• Oct. 22, 1988: Recruited by Clearwater Police Department
• Nov. 25, 1988: Promoted to police officer in North Greenwood
• 1991-2006: Served as member of CPD SWAT team, commanded for 4 ½ years.
• Aug. 16, 1997: Promoted to sergeant, supervised members of North Greenwood Neighborhood Community Policing Patrol Team and other patrol personnel.
• 2000: Selected as Personnel & Training Unit Supervisor.
• Dec. 29, 2001: Promoted to lieutenant, commanded Special Operations Section, responsible for high-liability like Special Weapons and Tactics, Emergency Response, Canine Teams and School Resource Officer Program.
•  2006: Commanded the District II/West Side of Clearwater. Helped spearhead a City Patrol Watch Commander pilot program to help promote permanent evening shift commanders.
• August, 2008: Reassigned command of SWAT team.
• October, 2008: Took Command of the Beach District patrol
• January 30, 2009: Retired from CPD
• Private Sector: Managing Director for the National Warrior League/Federal Eastern Corporation, developing tactical lines of equipment for military and law enforcement end users. Law Enforcement Liaison for Florida Bullet, Inc. based out of Clearwater.
• May 2011: Took job as commander of operations at New Port Richey Police Department.