EXETER – Bill Harden sees co-workers as family and, on Sept. 13, he assumed the position of patriarch of the Exeter Police Department.
Harden, 51, became the department’s commissioner after taking an oath at the borough council meeting. The Swoyersville resident spent nearly 24 years with Wilkes-Barre City Police Department, where he reached the rank of sergeant before retiring. Harden is currently Wilkes University’s public safety second shift supervisor, a position he will continue to hold.
Taking a leadership role with a small police department was a long-term goal for Harden. Now that he’s commissioner of Exeter Borough Police, he plans to instill his family philosophy in members of the department.
“I treat co-workers with the same respect I treat my family members with,” Harden said. “I want to promote a family-oriented department where everyone works together — basically a good, strong team ethic — and I want to help the citizens of Exeter as much as we can.”
Harden said he’s looking forward to meeting borough residents and ingraining himself in the borough.
“I’m a firm believer that face-to-face communication works much better than talking on the phone or by email,” Harden said. “I think you have to be approachable, basically. I’m paid by the taxpayers to be here, so I believe that they’re paying for a service and I want to go out there and see what the people in Exeter need. I look forward to meeting everyone and I look forward to having a long career here.”
Harden’s appointment comes after former Commissioner William Schutter resigned from the position, effective Sept. 17. Exeter Mayor Herman Castellani said Harden was hired after a process that included formal interviews, as well as conversations with officers who worked beside Harden in Wilkes-Barre.
“Everything went well,” Castellani said. “He’s a young man, nice, clean cut. I met with some of his fellow officers that are retired and they had good things to say about him. He’s a good administrator; he has a good record, that’s what you go by. You go with the best.”
Castellani said the borough plans to grow Harden’s force in the coming months, making him the first of a series of new full-time hires for the department.
“We’re looking forward to putting full-time people on and some part-timers and getting our police force back to full strength again,” Castellani said.
Harden hopes the citizens of Exeter will give him a chance to both grow the department and become part of the community.
“Be patient, give us a chance to get things up and running and feel free to give me a call or stop in and see me,” Harden said. “I’m open to meeting everyone.”
