Assistant City Manager Doug Brinkley promoted Assistant Police Chief Eric Robins to the position of police chief, effective today.
“During the past several years, we’ve focused on developing leaders within our department,” said Brinkley. “Throughout this rigorous and extensive selection process, Eric excelled at demonstrating leadership, strategic foresight and a visionary approach to building on the recent achievements of our department and charting a path for future sustained success.”
A native Houstonian who has spent almost his entire career with SLPD, Robins most recent assignment as assistant chief included direct supervision and leadership of patrol, criminal investigations, traffic, special impact teams, crime analysis, SWAT and crime scene investigations.
His many accomplishments have included strategies and programs that directly contributed to Sugar Land achieving a crime rate for 2017 that was the lowest on record after hitting a 20-year low in 2016. Industry experts recently credited SLPD as one of the best run agencies they’ve evaluated in the nation.
Robins has implemented initiatives to increase police visibility and expand crime analysis to identify resources necessary to address criminal trends. He also managed and created special enforcement teams to target and handle specific high-crime patterns throughout the city, efforts that directly contributed to an historic low crime rate.
Robins led technology initiatives such as red light cameras that have resulted in a 58 percent reduction of accidents at targeted intersections and a network of license plate recognition cameras that resulted in the arrests of more than nine criminals so far this year.
Under his leadership, SLPD received accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. The review and certification of the department’s policies and procedures, management, operations and support services is considered one of the highest law enforcement recognitions.
Robins joined SLPD in 1992 as a patrol officer and since served as a detective, sergeant, lieutenant and captain prior to his promotion to assistant chief in 2010. During that time, he has provided leadership for every division in the police department. He served as correctional officer with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice from 1989 to 1991.
Robins earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Houston-Downtown and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Sam Houston State University.
He is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police and the FBI National Academy. He is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Texas Police Chief’s Association.
This notice is from the City of Sugar Land.