Moser takes over as Muskego's police chief

Muskego - Muskego has a new police chief as of last week, but he isn't a new face.

He is Craig Moser, a 28-year veteran of the Muskego Police Department who came to Muskego as a patrol officer.

Moser subsequently rose to the rank of sergeant and for the last five years has been captain in charge of the detective bureau, school and community resource officers, clerical and dispatch. During his tenure, he also graduated from Northwestern University Traffic Institute School of Police Staff and Command in 1999 and from the FBI National Academy in 2007.

Help from homes

While he doesn't foresee any substantive changes, one thing Moser said he would like to do is increase community involvement.

"Citizens helping us out makes our job easier," he said.

Moser hopes to accomplish his goal by making the Police Department more visible.

"The only time they see police is when something's wrong," he said.

People will be more involved if they know police officers, he said.

It should be a win-win, he said, because "it will be easier if we need something from them or they need something from us."

So, Moser said he plans to be at as many community events as he can, and other officers will try to attend those that he can't.

That thrust is in line with a greater emphasis he wants to put on community and business watches and the Citizens Police Academy.

Drug messages

Another thrust will be aimed at stemming the increase in heroin use, he said.

Only this month, Moser spoke at Atonement Lutheran Church to a crowd of up to 70 parents, telling them what to look for in terms of signs of possible heroin or other drug use. Similar talks will be scheduled later.

In addition, he said, "We still have too many drunk drivers," a problem the department is trying to counter.

Meeting the challenges

Although Muskego is a low-crime community, it has property crimes - thefts, vehicle break-ins and random burglaries, Moser said.

The new chief said he's looking forward to the new challenges partly because he knows he has good backup.

"I work with a lot of good people at the Police Department," he said.

Moser succeeds Paul Geiszler, who retired at the end of December after nearly 33 years with the department.

Succeeding Moser will be Richard Rens, who has 28 years of law enforcement experience, the last 22 years with the Muskego Police Department. He has served as a patrol officer, a sergeant, and most recently as a lieutenant. Rens is a 2003 graduate of the Southern Police Institute Command Officers Development Course.

Also, James Rozeski has been promoted to lieutenant. He has 12 years of experience with the department that he joined as a patrol officer. Most recently he served as a sergeant. Rozeski also is a tactical officer and serves as a department instructor in several disciplines.

- Jane Ford-Stewart