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SWOYERSVILLE — Police Chief Kyle Castner learned much about the profession from the veteran lawmen who preceded him, but he also has some new ideas for the role he was formally elevated to on Tuesday evening.
Castner hopes to build the department’s social media presence and enhance community participation, he said following swearing-in by Mayor Chris Concert during September’s council meeting.
“I am really excited to work with council and with the great group of guys that I have,” Castner told the Times Leader during an interview after the meeting.
The position pays a base salary of $55,938, Borough Manager Gene Breznay confirmed.
Castner takes over from Chief Dave Latoski, who retired last month after 29 years of service to the borough.
Latoski, in turn, became chief in June 2013, following the retirement earlier that year of Chief Tom DiMaria, who started with the force in 1986 and became chief in 2001.
Both men had an impact on Castner, something both he and the mayor noted.
“I’m sad to see Mr. Latoski go. We worked well together, but I know we’re in good hands because he trained Kyle,” Concert said.
Castner, 36, said he started his career off in Courtdale, and then went to Edwardsville for five years. In 2005, DiMaria hired him for a part-time post in Swoyersville, which became a full-time position the following year, he recalled.
His influences also include other area departments, in which he has friends and whose social media presence Castner has been studying, including Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes-Barre Township and Larksville, as well as the Wilkes-Barre Crime Watch page.
“I’d like to follow in their footsteps,” Castner said. “I’d also like to get the community more involved, perhaps a crime watch — the community helping us to help them.”
Swoyersville currently has three full-time officers including himself, he said — and is in the process of trying to obtain two more full-timers — as well as four part-time officers.
Also on Tuesday, Concert presided over patrolman Joshua Wolinsky’s promotion to sergeant.
Castner assumes the new role in a borough that is relatively safe, but like all communities not without some challenges.
According to the most recent monthly statistics provided by Breznay on Tuesday, Swoyersville had 153 calls for service and six motor vehicle accidents.
“We have a variety of things, a lot of them are petty. Some thefts from yards, we have some trespassing,” Castner said. “But we don’t have anywhere near the problems that a lot of other places do.
Concert agreed that the department has been doing its job, as reflected in such trends. That’s why he wants to see Castner and his officers keep it that way, while maintaining good relations with the public.
“I want our police department to interact with the community, and I think Kyle’s the perfect man for the job,” the mayor said.