As a 16-year law enforcement officer with the Concord Police Department, DETECTIVE SERGEANT JOHN PARKER has been an embodiment of the agency’s core values of integrity, restraint, respect, leadership, courage, and competence and is admired by both his subordinates and his superiors. He served in various sections of the patrol bureau before being promoted to the rank of sergeant and assigned to supervise the Vice Narcotics Unit. Although admittedly not his first choice of assignment, Det. Sgt. Parker embraced the role and leveraged his master’s degree in performance management to implement a strategic evidence-based approach to problem-solving. He is a progressive leader who ensures that any implementation or change is observed from a wide lens and buy-in is obtained from all stakeholders.

While supervising the Vice Narcotics Unit, Det. Sgt. Parker identified the unit’s need to improve its intelligence-gathering capabilities to better support stakeholders with crime deterrence and case solvability. Working with his commanding officer, he contributed to creation of a Gang Unit to augment the Narcotics Unit and improve its information gathering. This approach aided in the arrest of 59 offenders on 140 criminal charges and the seizing of 19 firearms, more than 1 million dollars in cash, and a significant amount of many controlled substances, including MDMA, heroin, and methamphetamines, during Operation Concord Cleanup in 2020.

Det. Sgt. Parker also serves as a mentor to teenagers in the community through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas (BBBS) and is a board member of the Cabarrus Leadership Council, where he has assisted in raising funds and coordinating drives for food and school supplies.

“I have spent my career trying to help anyone I could and continue to do so with the Lord’s help.”