Frank Dixon

Chief Frank Dixon, MS, was sworn in as the Chief of the Denton Police Department on October 15, 2018. Chief Dixon prioritizes transparent communication and community relationships to build upon and improve the existing collaboration between the Denton Police Department and the community it serves.

Frank has more than 25 years of law enforcement experience, 23 of which with the Austin Police Department, where he successfully worked his way up through the ranks to the position as Assistant Police Chief. During his career in Austin, Frank was a certified Mental Health Officer, and was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal very early in his career for successfully resolving a call that involved a suicidal woman who was armed with a knife.

Since coming to the City of Denton, Frank has begun transformational change in the culture of the police department. This includes the implementation of revised General Orders (policies), a full time Homeless Outreach Team, and a new model of crisis response in a collaborative Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) that pairs a civilian Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a plain clothed police officer. The unit is available 24/7 to respond to calls for service involving those in mental health crisis, as well as conduct limited follow-up with mental health consumers within the City of Denton.

Frank grew up the son of an Air Force father, living in Ft. Worth, Hawaii, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Austin. After graduating from high school, Frank honorably served in the United States Marine Corps (1989-1993). Frank attended Lamar University, where he received both a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice (2018), and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice degree (2020). He is a member of the Major Cities Chiefs Association and is a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership Institute, the Senior Management Institute for Police by the Police Executive Research Forum, APD’s Leadership Command College, and the West Point Leadership Course. Frank is also a recognized Paul Harris Fellow with Rotary International.

Frank has always had a leadership philosophy of being present and engaged, mentoring and actively leading from the front.