In 1970 the rank of Inspector was approved by the City Council and Bill Ware was hired in that position.  Retired Corporal Dale Adams was the last officer to hold that rank.

 In the summer of 1974, the department’s shooting range, west of the 1800 block of State Road 200, was closed due to complaints from residents to the north of bullets striking their houses.  The department negotiated for the use of the Lowell correctional facilities range.

 The City Council, on September 17, 1974, appointed Lee McGehee to succeed K.C. Alvarez as Police Chief effective October 1, 1974.

 The 1970’s witnessed the beginnings of Ocala Changing from a small city to become the fifth fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States by the end of the 1980’s.

 The Ocala Police Department’s municipal jail as abolished February 1, 1976.  Changes in Florida’s Constitution had eliminated municipal courts and the need for city jails.  The City prisoners would henceforth be housed at the County Jail.  The entire first floor of the police administration building had originally been constructed to hold the jail, radio room, municipal courtroom, judge’s office, clerk of the court office and the city prosecutor’s office.  Once all these functions were consolidated at the county courthouse, the first floor was converted into additional space for the police department.  A computer based communications center was constructed in the former municipal court area.  During this same period, voters approved the annexation of West Ocala into the city.  Ocala’s city limits were extended from NW 16^th Avenue (now Martin Luther King Avenue) to just west of Interstate 75.  This annexation was one of the largest single land growth periods in Ocala’s history.