Troy Merry is Named City of Salem's Chief of Police!

In January, Troy Merry was named the new police chief of the City of Salem Police Department by Mayor David Bower.

Merry, who grew up in Salem, has been a police officer for 12 years and said being a police man is something he always wanted to do.
“And I never had a desire to be an officer anywhere other than Salem,” he said.

Merry said he likes his job because he gets to help people and make a difference in their lives. He also has enjoyed getting to meet so many new people through his job.

Now in his new role, Merry said he is looking forward to continuing his work with the public, as well as local businesses.

“My main goal is to stop crime before it happens,” he said. “I want to make this a safe community and a place where residents feel comfortable raising their family. I want it to be like it was when I was a kid, when you could walk down the street to the local store and not have to worry something was going to happen to you.”

While Merry was previously a detective and the assistant police chief, he said he will now see less investigation and focus more on the day-to-day operations of the department. He said his assistant, Reggie Terrell, will take on the more hands-on tasks.

“We have a great bunch of guys here at the department,” he said. “They all give 100 percent.”

There are currently 12 police officers who work for the City of Salem, including Merry.

Former Police Chief Scott Ratts is now a major with the department.

“I want to make this the safest community I can,” said Merry. “I want to have a good working relationship with the citizens and all business owners.”

In fact, a new program the department has started is one where police officers go around and check different businesses in the community at all hours of the day on various days of the week to make sure things are OK. He said there will be door hangers displayed on the doors of the businesses so people know they have been checked.

Merry said residents will see an increase in both bike patrol and foot patrol around the city, which will include both reserve and paid officers.

As the weather warms up, there will be officers making more of a presence at the city’s two lakes, where officers will be checking for boating permits and making sure the grounds are safe for visitors.

Another service the police department officers is Vacation Watch. Any resident who is going on vacation for an extended amount of time and would like their home watched may call the police department and request extra surveillance.

“We will check their property and keep an eye on it while they are gone,” said Merry.

The police officers also have areas of increased enforcement, which are areas where residents have called in with multiple complaints concerning traffic.

The city’s drug team is another area that has seen increased activity. Merry said residents are encouraged to call tips in and they can do so anonymously or even by email.

“We have a great working relationship with the county and the state police departments,” said Merry. “We all want to make this a safer place to live for our residents.”

-M. Spaulding