Kevin Soberick, the newly-confirmed chief of police for Salisbury Township, has a lot of ideas on how his force can better serve and protect the citizens of the township.

Soberick sat down with The Press Sept. 18 to outline his vision of the police department’s interaction with the community it serves.

As with just about any individual, corporate or governmental organization that comes into office after a long-tenured administration, only time and practicality stand in the way of getting it all done at once.

Soberick was named acting chief by the Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners June 27, and confirmed as chief by the board at a public meeting Sept. 12, following the 25-year tenure of Chief Allen W. Stiles who retired July 12.

Central to Soberick’s new chapter is “more involvement with township residents.” Soberick said he has been working with his officers gathering input on how that translates into operational changes. While a number of changes are being considered, Soberick said he wants to outline his ideas to the commissioners before implementing them.

“We have traditionally had a lot of support from our township residents, but I want to capitalize on that to seek a greater sense of community involvement,” Soberick said.

One initiative would be to establish a citizen’s advisory panel “to get a cross-section of ideas from our community.” Soberick said the demographics of Salisbury Township has changed quite a bit in the past several years and he “wants everybody to feel their voice is being heard.” The township’s two detectives, Kevin Kress and Christopher Casey figure heavily into that initiative Soberick said.

Regarding staffing changes, Soberick said he is “looking at command structure” to make the best use of the officers on the force, whom he refers to as “everyday heroes” for their commitment to the people of Salisbury Township. He said he is developing a five-year plan for staffing needs.

Soberick said Sgt. Donald Sabo, who has for many years been investigations and special services coordinator, would become the lead agent in shepherding the department through the detailed department accreditation process put in place by the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission.

“The uniform processes outlined by the accreditation process have become integral for the successful operation of local law enforcement agencies over the past several years,” Soberick said.

Sabo will also be involved in the grant writing process to seek federal justice department grants and other funds available for law enforcement initiatives.

He said Sgt. Ronald Patten and Cpl. Charles Whitehead will be involved as structural command changes are implemented.

Soberick said he will also be seeking increased interaction with his patrol officers. Initially, he plans to “stay over” after daytime office hours two days a week, so he can keep in touch with both patrol platoons - the daytime and overnight shifts.

In line with his 24 years of township law enforcement experience, Soberick said he has seen the threats and challenges to public safety in Salisbury change over time.

“We see peaks and valleys in the challenges some residents go through with drug use and overdoses of prescription drugs, but the drug culture and use of heroin in the Lehigh Valley is a constant source of anxiety.

“Depending on how it is ‘cut,’ heroin use can be a deadly proposition and users never really know what they are getting from their dealers. It’s a constant challenge for law enforcement officers in every community,” Soberick said.

Soberick said he would continue community initiatives already in place, such as “Coffee with a Cop” and “Kids ‘n’ Cops” programs.

The “rebranding” of the force has already resulted in a few cosmetic changes.

Patrol cruisers are already in the process of receiving new, fresh striping decals that simplify cruiser identity with the bold letters of “Police” and “Salisbury” as the theme, with incorporation of the “thin blue line” of law enforcement tradition incorporated into the design.

With enthusiastic buy-in from patrol officers, Soberick relaxed uniform standards to allow Bermuda-length shorts and polo shirts permissible as a hot-weather alternative to the more formal and traditional uniform.

Soberick said he is troubled by the perception of law enforcement officers by many segments of the country’s society and he hopes he can help change that in the scale of this small-town segment of the Lehigh Valley.

“It’s getting harder and harder to attract qualified persons into law enforcement careers,” Soberick said. “I hope that will change a bit in our next round of hires as we get involved with the regional recruiting consortium of Lehigh County Chiefs of Police. That will give us greater exposure to recruits and allow us a better opportunity for addressing diversity issues in the ranks.”

With all the challenges facing leadership in law enforcement agencies, Soberick was asked why he would want to become chief and add those challenges to his plate.

“It’s just a natural progression,” he said. “I have been able to advance through the ranks and the training and experience I garnered in 24 years on the force has raised my comfort level with leadership responsibilities. I believe I have a lot to offer and I can make a difference here.”

While most every veteran of a first responder agency can recite a lot of “war stories” of bad incidents they have been involved in, Soberick cited a recent positive experience he said sticks out for him.

“A person involved in an earlier critical incident came to the station to thank the officers involved for the way they responded to that incident and asked if there was anything that person could do to help others that may be involved in similar circumstances,” Soberick said.

“That was a touching and humbling moment that helped reinforce the humanity of the people we serve. It’s unexpected things like that make it all worthwhile,” Soberick concluded.