Baldwin Borough police focus on community with year of changes

It’s not unusual for Baldwin Borough police officers to stop by a baseball game and chat with the coaches or visit the library and converse with residents.

In the last year, community policing has become a major part of the job for all 24 officers in the department. That means getting out of the car, walking around and talking to residents and getting to know them even when they’re not in crisis.

“We’re here. We’re a part of the community. We want to get to know you. We want you to get to know us,” police Chief Tony Cortazzo said.

In 2019, the department underwent numerous changes, from the hiring of four new officers to fill vacancies, to multiple promotions, an overall restructuring and even getting a new chief — with Cortazzo assuming the role Feb. 1.

“It’s changed quite a bit over the last year,” Deputy Chief Keith Hagan said of the department, noting that it’s moving in a positive direction.

David Youell, 32, of Natrona Heights, started in May as a new patrolman. Youell, who spent eight years with the Army, completing tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, said his first impression of Baldwin police was that it was “structurally sound” and full of friendly faces.

In his first year on the job, he’s found that to be true.

For him, it’s about camaraderie.

“I always try to be dependable and reliable, whether it might be if someone is in a real bad, dangerous situation, or if they need a cup of coffee, I’ll be there,” he said.

In October, new officers Troy Pecina, Erin Johnson and Anthony Williams were sworn in.

Each came from various backgrounds.

That’s a plus for the department, Cortazzo said. That means that no matter what the case is that they’re dealing with, Baldwin police likely has an officer with experience in the area — for example, some officers have backgrounds in accounting, while others have worked in construction or computers, Hagan said.

“The problems that we are facing today are more complex problems than they used to be 30 years ago, 40 years ago,” Cortazzo said. “So the more education that the officers have when they come here, it makes us a stronger department.”

While four new officers joined the Baldwin force in the last year, filling vacancies in the department, there also was a need to restructure, Cortazzo said.

For the past several years, Baldwin police had a chief, two lieutenants and two sergeants. With four shifts, both the lieutenants and sergeants were each overseeing a shift. However, that meant they were essentially doing the same job, the new chief said.

When he took over, he proposed a restructuring that provided a clearer line of command in the department that included four sergeants who would each oversee a shift, a newly created deputy chief role that all of the sergeants would report to, who then would report to the chief.

With the retirement of both lieutenants in 2019 — Lt. Matthew Kearns in January and Craig Cavlovic in June — it cleared the way for the new structure to take place, the chief said.

A new deputy chief role was created and 22-year Baldwin officer Keith Hagan was promoted to the role in September.

Hagan, 52, a Baldwin native who worked as the department’s first K9 officer, has always taken a leadership role in every aspect of his life.

The 1986 Baldwin High School graduate who has a degree in computers from Grove City College, once served as a fire chief in the borough.

It was through that role that he realized his passion was to give back to his hometown, and that’s why he became a Baldwin police officer.

“I grew up here. This is personal to me,” Hagan said. “It’s not just a paycheck. It’s not just a job. It’s something that I take personally. I want to see the police department succeed because I’m proud of the police department and I’m proud of my involvement in the police department.”

Over the years, Hagan has put his background in computers to good use, overseeing computer operations and even in the last year heading the implementation of body cameras usage in the department. He served as the CALEA assistant accreditation manager alongside Cortazzo, who managed the accreditation until becoming chief. Now, Hagan has assumed the role of accreditation manager.

To round out the new structure, in November, Baldwin police promoted officers Mike Falcione and Jim Jones to sergeant. They will join sergeants Kim Reising and Tom Kearns to supervise the department’s four shifts.

Falcione had joined the Baldwin department in 2013 after working for more than a decade with the NYPD.

For Jones, who came to Baldwin from Pittsburgh police and is now in his 16th year with the borough, it was former chief Chris Kelly’s leadership that made him want to join the Baldwin force, he said.

Over the years, Jones said he had no intention of going for a promotion in the department until Cortazzo took over.

In February, Jones said, he was given the chance to assume a leadership role in the department. Today, there’s a push in the department to turn officers into future leaders, he said.

“It’s exciting for me to see these young guys be hungry and actually want to be future leaders,” Jones said.

In his new role, Jones is excited to help the officers under him push towards leadership roles.

Officers say they’re excited about the changes that are occurring in the department.

Specifically, they like the focus on community policing.

While the focus in 2019 was for officers to visit ballgames, schools and community events, they’re adding on a stop to borough businesses in 2020.

Each officer is required to visit every borough business at least once this year to get to know the owners.

When he stops by events, Cortazzo said, he’s already noticing a difference. Residents know the officers by name and offer them friendly hellos.

“That’s just going to create more of a community atmosphere, more of a family here in Baldwin,” he said.