With just a few weeks under his belt as the new head of the Cumming Police Department, David Marsh already has big plans.

After nearly 15 years at the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office in a variety of different capacities, officials say that Marsh will bring a progressive approach to the department as the city changes and grows.

To get a better picture of who Marsh is and what he will bring to the department, the Forsyth County News sat down with the new chief on Thursday to talk about why he chose to dedicate his life to the field of law enforcement and what his priorities will be in the coming months and years.

Calling to the job

Born in Brunswick and raised in Norcross, Marsh says he ended up in Forsyth County after participating in a police officer training program while at Auburn University that put him in contact with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

Marsh said during those experiences in the training program he found that he liked the Forsyth County agency and after graduating in 2003 he made the decision to become a local deputy.

“Most people when they want to be police officers, they sort of apply at three, four, five different agencies and they take whichever is the first one to offer them a job,” he said. “And when I came back to the area a couple of times during college, I really liked it here, and so I applied.”

But even before making that pivotal decision, Marsh said that while studying sociology and criminology at Auburn he felt the true calling to law enforcement, and specifically understanding where and why crime occurs.

“Something about the career field was just super interesting to me, and the more I studied it and researched it while I was in school, I just felt the real calling to the job," he said. "I thought it was neat the way the police interacted with the public and there was certainly some aspect of running, chasing, fighting bad guys that seemed super exciting and interesting. But the more I worked in it, the more I realized it was about really just being part of the community."

Marsh was hired on to the sheriff’s office in 2004, and according to Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman, the young deputy quickly rose through the ranks, going from the jail and uniform patrol divisions to key roles in several drug task forces, training and the office of professional standards.

"David was this young officer that came to us with just a host of training, and it became clear really fast that he was a sharp, sharp intelligent young guy," Freeman said. "He was the guy you instantly saw potential in.”

When Marsh came to Freeman about applying for the Cumming police chief position, he knew that it was a good decision, believing that a police chief with a personal relationship with the county sheriff’s office could benefit both agencies and help keep people safer.

"He'll be a progressive chief, progressive in technology and progressive in enforcement attitude," he said. "We've talked about our people training shoulder to shoulder together, because if something really bad happens, we're going to be standing shoulder to shoulder."

New priorities

While speaking to the FCN from his new office in the police department building in downtown Cumming, Marsh surveyed the office’s mess of boxes, personal items and papers, commenting that he still has a lot to do to get fully settled in.

"It's been a lot, a lot to learn, and it's been great,” he said after one of his officers came in to give him a large handful of keys. “The people who work for the city are awesome, the people who work for this agency are awesome. Really anybody and everybody has tried their best to help make this transition easier for me."

But while he’s settling in, Marsh has a few short-term goals for the police department in the next few months, starting with hiring more staff. Currently, he says, the police department is about six positions short of a full staff of patrol officers, positions they intend to fill as soon as possible.

“While six open slots doesn't sound like a bunch, that's like 40% of our workforce ... six openings is a big deal," he said. "For us, right now the goal is to get qualified people working here."

With a full staff of patrol officers, Marsh said that the Cumming Police Department will be more visible in the community and work more efficiently in different areas of the city.

"For our community, they are going to see a significant amount of visibility, and once we get fully staffed, they are going to see a lot more officers on the street,” he said. “Ultimately, I think that's a good thing.”

In the long term, Marsh that he hopes the department can hone in on different issues in the city like property and business crime by having officers regularly patrolling high-traffic areas on bikes or motorcycles.

"I'd like to see this agency as it grows to add a few more specialized positions,” Marsh said. “I'd like to see a couple of full-time investigators instead of just patrol officers.”

Marsh said that with Mayor Troy Brumbalow’s vision for the city and the city center that is being built near Forsyth Central High School, the police department is going to have to grow and change too, but he thinks they are in a good position to do just that.

“[Brumbalow] wants this to be a place where people come and shop and enjoy entertainment and do things like that, so this department will have to grow as even more and more people come into our city and use this as a destination," he said.

Lastly, Marsh said that under his leadership, the Cumming Police Department is going to strive more towards transparency with the public and members of the media.

This week, the department started a new Facebook account that Marsh says they are going to use to update the community about community events and trainings. Marsh hopes it will make the local community more comfortable with the work that they do.