Jefferson City Police Officer Patrick Duncan focuses on bettering community

Julie Smith/ News Tribune
Officer Patrick Duncan poses Wednesday in Jefferson City Municipal Court. Duncan was recently name Jefferson City employee of the month.
Julie Smith/ News Tribune Officer Patrick Duncan poses Wednesday in Jefferson City Municipal Court. Duncan was recently name Jefferson City employee of the month.

When Jefferson City Police Department officer Patrick Duncan learned he had received the city's outstanding employee service award for January, he was shocked.

The award doesn't just recognize him, though, he said; it recognizes the whole department.

"I don't go out and try to seek anything for me," Duncan said. "I'm more of a team-type player. It's all about our department and what we can do for the community and to make it safer."

With nearly 18 years of experience at the JCPD, Duncan said he enjoys speaking with different people and working with his coworkers to better the community.

Duncan is an officer in the Patrol Division, where he does a little bit of everything - from working homicides to small infractions, at the city level up to the state level. He also has helped with social work, child custody cases and warrant arrests.

Due to the wide range of activities, there isn't such a thing as a "typical day," he said. That's his favorite part of his job.

"No two days are the same," he said. "You could do all of the small things one day, and next day you're dealing with something totally different. It keeps it interesting. You're not stuck in an office - your car is your office, and it goes everywhere."

Duncan sometimes has to work crimes that involve children, which can be the most challenging part.

"Those hit home with me and those are the hardest to work, whether it be the death investigation of a child or abuse," he said. "Those are the worst. A lot of stuff you can usually separate yourself from and do what you know needs to be done, but dealing with kids, it hits home."

Duncan grew up around law enforcement. His stepfather worked at the Springfield Police Department.

Duncan said he has watched the field evolve, particularly with technology. He remembers when police cars didn't have video cameras and officers had to run plates over the radio instead of entering the information into a computer. If someone has been fingerprinted before, Duncan said, officers can now easily run people's fingerprints and learn if the person has given a false name or information.

"Some of that has been hard to keep up with since I grew up around the other stuff," he said.

Before joining the JCPD, Duncan worked at the Fulton Police Department and Callaway County Sheriff's Department for about three years.

"It got my feet wet, so to speak," he said. "Growing up around it, I knew what I was getting into. Did I necessarily know the ins and outs of the profession? No. But working for a couple of years at Fulton, I learned a lot, and then going to the county, I got a different aspect of what the county officers do."

Duncan said the main driver for becoming a police officer was that he wanted to help people. He also enjoys talking to different people, he added.

Those who want to become police officers should learn excellent communication skills and make sure they respect everyone they come in contact with and speak to someone "as a person, not as a criminal," he said.

Outside of work, Duncan enjoys playing golf, going to rivers and lakes, hunting, helping Jefferson City organization People Helping Paws, and spending time with his family and five dogs.