The City of Bethel has a new public safety director, a little more than two months after the city’s former director, James Harris, left the position under circumstances that remain unclear.
Jeffrey Kirkham joined the Bethel Police Department in March as deputy director of public safety. He was confirmed to head the department by the Bethel City Council at its Nov. 12 meeting.
On KYUK’s "Coffee at KYUK" program, Kirkham shared his hopes for the department.
"Community policing is one of my top priorities. So outreach is actually very important with that, and I'm doing a lot of that outreach. My officers are out there attending events as much as possible to get out there," Kirkham said.
Kirkham said that he wants to mitigate calls related to substance use in the community by supporting options for treatment. He also said that the Bethel Police Department plans to launch a cadet program in spring 2026 to encourage young people to pursue a career in policing.
Kirkham has spent more than 40 years in law enforcement – until recently, all in Arizona. His career includes more than two decades with the Mesa Police Department, nearly a decade as a police commander in Apache Junction, two years as chief of police in the border city of Nogales, two years with Arizona’s police standards council, and a recent stint as a tribal gaming commission inspector.
Kirkham has been hired at a starting annual salary of just over $140,000, with benefits. His confirmation comes as the City of Bethel restructures its public safety department. Kirkham will oversee both the police and fire departments, which will each have deputy director positions of their own. The city has also approved a plan to roll its evidence custodian and dispatch supervisor positions into a new support services manager position.
