Chief Albert “Butch” Arenal, 1st Vice President
Chief of Police Albert A. (Butch) Arenal is a lifelong resident of Charlotte County who joined the Punta Gorda Police Department in 1986, and was appointed Chief of Police in December of 2008. In his 27 year career with the department, he supervised all facets of the agency, and he served as the agency’s Accreditation Manager, coordinating the department’s effort to achieve its first State law enforcement accreditation award in 1998.
Chief Arenal holds an Associate in Arts degree from Edison College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from International College (now Hodges University) where he was graduated with honors. Chief Arenal is a 1998 graduate of the 193rd Session of the FBI National Academy and a graduate of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s 41st Chief Executive Seminar. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Region 10 Training Council and Chair of the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute Policy Board. He served three consecutive terms (2010-2012) as President of the Southwest Florida Police Chiefs Association where he currently serves as Immediate Past President. Chief Arenal has also been an active member of the Florida Police Chiefs Association since 2006.
Chief Arenal is an ardent supporter of law enforcement accreditation and serves as a Commissioner for the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, Inc. (CFA), the accrediting body for the State of Florida. He served as Commission Vice Chair in 2010 and Chair in 2011, and also served as an assessor, team leader, and instructor for the Commission for more than 10 years, assessing Florida law enforcement agencies for standards compliance. Chief Arenal was the 2005 recipient of the Commission’s Sheriff Neil J. Perry Service Award recognizing top performance in the field of law enforcement accreditation and commitment to the law enforcement profession. Additionally, he served as Second Vice President (2001-2003) and President (2003-2005) for the Florida Police Accreditation Coalition, Inc., an organization of more than 200 Florida criminal justice agencies united in pursuit and maintenance of accredited status.
In his community, Chief Arenal serves as Chairman of the Board of Drug-Free Charlotte County, sits on the Board of Trustees of Charlotte Regional Medical Center, and he serves as President of Do the Right Thing of Charlotte County, Inc. He is also an Ex Officio Board Member of the Punta Gorda Chamber of Commerce.
Chief Arenal and his wife Barbara live in Punta Gorda, and have an 8-year-old son, Connor.
Source: Florida Police Chiefs Association
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