Last week, the Locust Police Department officially welcomed Officer Paul Dover as its newest member of the department’s patrol division.

Dover is a 2015 graduate of Stanly Community College’s BLET program and he is an eight-year law enforcement veteran who served with the Concord Police Department prior to LPD.

During his tenure with Concord, Dover served as a patrol officer before advancing to the position of forensic and crime scene detective as well as working as a fingerprint examiner for the agency. He also served on the agency’s SWAT team.

Dover has a bachelor’s degree in sports management from Pfeiffer University, and while at Concord earned both his Intermediate and Advanced Law Enforcement Certification from the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.

Dover resides in Locust with his family and stated that LPD’s community policing oriented approach and his desire to enjoy more quality family time away from the job sparked his interest in Locust. He also noted that when he would interact with Locust officers patrolling his neighborhood that they were always smiling and genuinely seemed to enjoy their job with LPD.

Dover will work with Sgt. Chad Whitley’s patrol rotation.