Canyon Lake Mayor Mark Terry and city officials said the city will launch its own police department, naming Jim Rells as the incoming chief and setting a target to begin operations by late August 2026.

City Manager Aaron Brown and Mayor Pro Tem Casey Castillo said the move is intended to give Canyon Lake local control over staffing, equipment and grant applications. "We will set staffing levels that fit the needs of Canyon Lake, choose equipment on our own timeline, and remove vendor overhead baked into contract models," Terry said.

The announcement came as officials described a broader public-safety program that includes investments made since the city created its own fire agency. Council member Dale Welty said creating a local fire department “saved nearly a million dollars from the general fund compared to other Riverside fire departments,” and officials said that experience informed plans for the police department.

Jim Rells, introduced at the event as the new police chief, described a community-focused model. "Our first tool isn't a tactic. It's a relationship," Rells said. "As we launch by late August 2026, our first priority is a trained professional team focused on Canyon Lake's needs, visible in neighborhoods, easy to reach and ready to listen." Chief Rells said residents will see officers walking the town center and attending community events.

Officials also highlighted related equipment and readiness steps: council previously approved a new fire engine in February 2023 and officials said that engine is scheduled for delivery in summer 2027. The city said it purchased a generator to keep critical facilities—including the fire station, the soon-to-be police station and city hall—operational during outages.

Mayor Pro Tem Casey Castillo and Council member Jeremy Smith described the police plan as a continuation of the city’s local-control strategy. "Forming our own police department is local control," Smith said, later adding that the process relied on resident feedback at town halls and on regional partnerships with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff Chad Bianco and other regional partners were thanked for their cooperation; officials said regional coordination and agreements will continue as the city transitions to locally delivered police services. Officials cautioned that full operational readiness depends on staffing, training and facility completion.

The city also promoted Alert Canyon Lake, its official emergency-notification system, as part of the safety communications improvements. City leaders said Alert Canyon Lake will provide authoritative notices about weather, road closures and other urgent events so residents have an alternative to social media posts.

Officials gave no budget appropriation figures for the police launch at the event. The council has approved several related items at prior meetings—badges and vehicle purchases were noted—but the timeline for full staffing, final cost tallies and specific grant awards tied to the police transition were not specified at the State of the City presentation.

Looking ahead, officials said the police rollout will proceed with phased hiring, training and community outreach. "We listened to the people," Mayor Pro Tem Castillo said of the multi-year public process; he also noted high resident turnout at town halls that discussed items such as golf-cart crossings over Railroad Canyon Road.

For residents, city leaders emphasized that the shift is meant to increase visibility and community engagement by public-safety personnel while keeping long-term costs under local control.