Under Irving Police Chief Larry Boyd’s directon, Irving has lowest crime rate on record

by Minnie Payne

IRVING — After working 22 years as a police officer for the City of Arlington and retiring as the assistant police chief, then 45-year-old City of Irving Police Chief Larry Boyd accepted the position of police chief for the City of Irving in 2004.

According to Boyd, the City experienced a 7.1 percent overall reduction in crime in 2007, with a 15.2 percent reduction in violent crime, making it the lowest crime rate on record for the City of Irving.

Boyd, now 49 years old, grew up in the Fort Worth Diamond Hill area where he attended public schools, graduating from Diamond Hill High School in 1976.

“I wasn’t as interested in schoolwork nearly as much as I was interested in playing baseball throughout school,” Boyd said. “Fortunately, we had a high school coach who wouldn’t let you play unless you were doing well in school.”

He said that he came from a very working class background.

“We didn’t have a lot of money, but I had a happy childhood."

Boyd said that while he was growing up, his dream was to be a police officer and when he graduated from high school he started to work as a rookie for the Irving Police Department.

“I got out of policing for a short period and took a job in the private sector, but missed it so much, I started to work for the Arlington Police Department, while attending LeTourneau University,” he said. “It took me a number if years to complete school, because I was working full-time and had a family.”

To his benefit, he said that because he was building life experiences through his work, he was able to apply those experiences to his classes.

“The City of Arlington has a tuition reimbursement program and because I maintained a certain grade point average, I was able to receive an education through my employer,” he said. “I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from LeTourneau University in 1993 as well as a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1998.

According to Boyd there are 344 sworn police officers.

“I don’t see the officers as often as I would like because of the many required administrative duties I have,” he said. “I interact with them as much as possible and get to see them on a one-to-one basis in early morning hours when I’m working out.”

“That’s something that I really have to make a point to do.”

Presently, the City of Irving is hiring police officers, he said.

“Educational requirements are that you have a minimum of 60 semester hours,” he said. “The beginning annual salary is $49,704.; within five years, an officer can be making an annual salary of $66,000.”

The City of Irving tries to be competitive with their pay, Boyd said.

“We hire the best and train them [police officers] to be the best,” he said.

The City of Irving offers tuition reimbursement for officers who want to earn a degree and presently four officers are taking advantage of it, he said.

“Unlike in past years, many officers have a four-year degree when they are hired,” Boyd said. “I encourage our officers to further their education.

“It increases their analytical and problem-solving skills.”

Boyd has been married to his wife, Kay, for 27 years, and they have a daughter, Lindsey, 22, and a son, Josh, 18.