Healdsburg's Police Department has a new top official as of Nov. 1. Police Chief Kevin Burke, former police chief in Lakeport, fills the gap left when former chief Susan Jones retired in July 2010. Burke leads a department of 24.5 full-time employees and 16 sworn officers to oversee law enforcement for Healdsburg's resident population of about 11,900. Before coming to Lakeport in 2006, Burke was a sergeant in the Los Angeles Police Department. According to Healdsburg Operations Lt. Kevin Young, acting chief during the interim, the city does not have a high rate of violent crime and is considered safe by comparison with major Bay Area cities. For the 2009-10 fiscal year, the police department had a $4.5 million budget.