Police Department

Police Department Mission Statement

The principal mission of the Town of Chester Police Department is to preserve the rights of citizens and reduce fear in the community through the prevention of crime, protection of persons, property, and the maintenance of order in public places; and to anticipate and respond to events that threaten public order and the protection of life and property.
It is essential all members remember that in the execution of their duties they act not for themselves but for the good of the public. They shall respect and protect the rights of individuals and perform their services with honesty, zeal, courage, discretion, fidelity, and sound judgment.

Police officers must seek and preserve public confidence by demonstrating impartial service to law, and by offering service and trust to all members of the public. It is the expressed Policy of this Department that police officers will use force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to obtain public cooperation to an extent necessary to secure observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary upon any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.

Message from Chief Doellinger

Chief Daniel Doellinger On behalf of all of the members of the Town of Chester Police Department, I would like to welcome you to our website. The Town of Chester is a rapidly growing community in southern Orange County, about 50 miles northwest of New York City. As a lifelong resident of the town, I feel a strong connection to community and am committed to serving our residents and visitors. I expect the same commitment from my employees. Shortly after I began working for the department in 1998, I was involved in the selection process of a department slogan and we chose the slogan of “Community Commitment”. This is a standard we have been living by ever since. We have implemented several programs in the community to work closely with our community and help provide a safe environment through proactive policing and crime prevention strategies. We offer a variety of programs for children, home safety, senior safety, and crime prevention education. We hope that through our efforts, we can continue to make the Town of Chester a safe and fun location to reside in.

As you navigate through our website, you will find useful information and links to other helpful sites. Many of the forms we use when interacting with the community can be found on our site, as well, such as the civilian accident report, and home security checks. We will be updating the website frequently and listing events you may be interested in.

Chief Daniel Doellinger

HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT

The police department was formed by town board resolution on July 22, 1975. The resolution created the police department and made all of the existing constables into police officers. The chief constable, Victor Roggia, became the first chief of police.

The police department served the community with part-time police officers and no specific coverage schedule until 1991, when the first full-time police officer (Officer Teresa [Kohol] Dobbertin) was hired. The first full-time police chief (Chief Dennis Nolan) was hired in 1992. The first full-time detective was promoted in 2000 (Det. Sal Ardisi) and the first full-time sergeant was promoted in 2001 (Sgt. Dan Doellinger).

In 1994, the department began providing regular coverage to the town for sixteen hours a day, supplemented by the New York State Police overnight, until January of 2007 when around-the-clock coverage began.

In March 2018, the police department moved from the basement of the Town Hall to a stand-alone renovated building at 79 Laroe Road.