LEWISTOWN — John F. Chester now wears the chief’s badge at the Mifflin County Regional Police Department. He took command on July 28 after over two decades in uniform, moved from the sergeant’s desk to the corner office, and stepped forward days later during preparations for National Night Out. The title is new. The face is not.

What matters here is simple: leadership shapes patrol coverage, response times, and how officers meet people on their hardest days. MCRPD’s footprint touches daily life across the region, and residents expect steady hands and a clear plan. In recent years, the department added a co-responder program that embeds a social worker, diverting some calls away from arrest and toward help.

Chester knows the county from more angles than a badge alone. The department’s release notes service with MCRPD dating to 2001, along with experience as a paramedic. He also remains active with the Belleville Volunteer Fire Company, where he serves as president. Those ties matter when a call moves from police tape to fire line to medical care and back again.

The public first saw Chester at the podium in his new role during the county’s run-up to National Night Out. He outlined plans for the event at Kish Park, working alongside Granville Township and Lewistown officers, and set a community tone from day one.

Chester’s visibility has been steady long before the promotion. In April, Calvert County detectives recognized MCRPD staff for assistance in a 2023 homicide investigation. Years earlier, his name surfaced in coverage of major incidents along U.S. 322.

The department has navigated one leadership change already in recent years. When Chief Scott Mauery retired in 2020, the board elevated then-Sergeant Andre French. French guided the co-responder launch and handled high-profile cases and public alerts. Chester follows a pattern of promoting from within, which keeps institutional knowledge intact while giving residents a familiar point of contact.

Staffing sits at the top of most regional departments’ lists, followed by training and community outreach. Chester inherits a program mix already built for those targets: the social-worker partnership, youth events, and joint details with neighboring agencies. National Night Out serves as an easy early test: can the department draw families, show equipment, answer basic questions, and send people home with contact information they’ll use later? Early signs point to continuity.

A second priority sits in plain view–traffic and corridor safety. U.S. 322 and key connectors in Derry, Brown, and Union remain busy and unforgiving. Past coverage has shown how one crash can lock down a workday or a school run.

Residents want targeted patrol windows, grant-backed equipment, and clear public updates when closures happen. They also want a chief who will show up at the scene, speak plainly, and then let investigators work through the facts. Chester’s record suggests comfort in that role.

Community trust isn’t built at a lectern. It grows when the same names appear in multiple uniforms, at fire halls and high school gyms, in borough meetings, and on the scanner. Chester’s fire service leadership and EMS background give him range across those rooms.

Here’s what to watch as the first months unfold. Does the department expand the co-responder model and publish simple metrics on diverted calls? Do quarterly updates spell out traffic enforcement priorities by road segment and time of day?

Do officers spend time in schools before problems start? And does the chief keep showing up in public not only when bad news breaks but when a park fills for a Tuesday night event? These are small tests. They add up. Chester’s promotion makes them his.