Miller Named Police Chief of Ventura
Ventura Assistant Police Chief Pat Miller has been named to the department’s top job, city officials announced Monday.
Miller, 51, had served as the interim chief since Dec. 4, after the retirement of Mike Tracy, who headed the department for six years.
As an assistant chief for the Operations Division since 1998, Miller administered the patrol, traffic, SWAT, special enforcement, training, schools and narcotics departments.
On Monday, Miller said grappling with an ongoing budget crunch is among his main concerns as he takes over the 129-officer force, which has not expanded its ranks in 10 years.
“You always hear ‘Do more with less,’ but you have to translate that into actions,” Miller said. “Maintaining the quality of service that we’ve provided over the years is a big challenge, and that is one that we will have to face.”
Miller joined the department as an officer in 1981.
Last year Miller was one of only 24 people chosen from a national pool of applicants to attend the master’s degree program in homeland security at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey.
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