RVC’s Smith new NCPD chief

Kevin Smith, a Rockville Centre resident who has spent over three decades with the Nassau County Police Department, has been promoted to chief of department as the county reshuffled its ranks in the wake of recent retirements.

Smith has been with the department for 32 years. He started as a patrolman and narcotics enforcement agent before a lengthy stint in the public information office. He eventually worked in the county’s headquarters before becoming a chief and head of detectives.

“I felt honored because there’s a lot of pretty prominent people in our department that have held this post and all of them have inspired me to follow in their footsteps,” he said.

The chief of department supervises uniformed police officers and is the department's highest ranking official who is responsible for operations. That person also assists the police commissioner.

The biggest challenge with his new role, Smith said, is trying to address the numerous concerns of county residents, including drunk driving, traffic fatalities and drug use.

Smith spent roughly half of his career in the narcotics division and said that fighting the war on drugs has always been his “passion.” He said one formula in addressing the problem is to determine how drugs are getting into the area and educating children about its dangers.

“We have to get the word out to kids early,” he stressed. “We have to get the word out to kids when they’re still vulnerable, when they feel that they’re invincible [and that] they can do anything and it’s not going to bother them. Many kids try something once or twice and then they make a poor choice and, the next thing you know, they’re addicted to a drug.”

He is looking forward to working with village police departments as well, including Rockville Centre commissioner Charles Gennario.

“The village police departments are our partners,” he said. “We do a lot of things alike. I can’t say enough good things about them.”

Smith has lived with his family in Rockville Centre since 1993.