Beverly Hills Chief
Celebrities? Sure. But Dave Snowden remains laser
focused on public safety
Paris Hilton. Paula Abdul. Playboy Bunnies.
David L. Snowden isn’t exactly complaining about some of the photo ops he’s had to suffer
through since being named chief of police of Beverly Hills in 2004.
The glossy celeb stuff, he realizes, kind of goes with the turf.
But the culture of this star-studded city goes far beyond the stereotypes ingrained in the
public consciousness by popular films such as “Beverly Hills Cop.” Behind the glamorous
images of palm-tree lined streets and luxurious boutiques is a well-oiled police department
regarded as one of the most modern and professional not only in the state, but the country.
In a recent telephone interview with CalChiefs, Snowden was a good sport when asked
about the celebrity hob-nobbing he has been required to engage in as Beverly Hills’ top
cop.
I’m having
so much fun
I can’t wait
to get to work.
He was more eager, however, to discuss the many ways technology is being used to
keep this 5.3-square-mile city, with a population of about 35,000 that can swell to about
300,000 on any day with workers and tourists, as crime free as possible.
“I truly believe Beverly Hills is the safest small metropolitan city in the United States,” said
Snowden, 69, who has served as a police chief in four consecutive decades, his longest
stint in Costa Mesa from 1986 to 2003. The former brigadier general in the U.S. Army also
was police chief of Baldwin Park, a post he assumed in 1980.
In the 1980s, brick-sized cell phones were considered state of the art.
Now, when Snowden sits at his home in Newport Beach, where he lives on the weekends
with his wife of more than 41 years, Ellyn, he can pick up his iPhone 5 and do some pretty
incredible stuff.
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Behind The Badge
Photos of Chief Snowden with Paris Hilton,
Paula Abdul, Playboy Bunnies and|Kirk23
Douglas
Spring 2013