J. Mark Jameson
City of Victoria

Victoria Advocate
Advocate staff report
December 28, 2022

Victoria Police Department Deputy Chief Mark Jameson was named interim police chief Tuesday. Police Chief Roberto Arredondo Jr. will leave the office on Friday.

Arredondo said on Dec. 1 that he is leaving to join his family in North Texas. He has been the police chief in Victoria since Nov. 30, 2020.

Jameson will serve as the interim police chief while the city seeks a permanent replacement for Arredondo.

The city announced in November that Arredondo was leaving to begin a new job as police chief for the city of Carrollton, in the Dallas area.

“My reason for leaving is only personal and not professional because this is a really good place to be,” Arredondo said Dec. 1. “There is no reason for leaving other than my family.”

City Manager Jesús Garza expressed confidence in Jameson's ability to lead the police department during the transitional period.

“Deputy Chief Jameson’s experience and leadership will allow us to continue providing excellent public safety services during this transition period,” Garza said.

Jameson first joined the police department in 1997 as a patrol officer and was promoted to the role of deputy chief in 2019. He previously served as interim police chief in 2020 following the departure of former Police Chief J.J. Craig, according to a city news release.

Jameson has held roles with the department’s SWAT team, honor guard, hostage negotiation team, school resource officer program, police department Bike Patrol, Special Crimes Unit and Support Services Division.

Some of his notable achievements include developing the Investigations Division’s Cellphone Forensics Unit (later called the Cyber Crimes Unit) and Crime Reduction Unit, spearheading technological advances such as body cameras and electronic ticket writers and working extensively on the department’s 2018 needs assessment study, according to the press release.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to once again serve as the interim police chief, and I am committed to continuing the good work Chief Arredondo started,” Jameson said.

A permanent police chief is expected to be announced in the spring.