{"id":109011,"date":"2026-02-09T12:03:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T12:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/109011\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T12:03:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T12:03:10","slug":"central-berks-regional-police-chief-retires-after-41-years-of-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/109011\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Berks Regional Police chief retires after 41 years of service"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly 41 years ago, Ray Serafin began his career as a part-time police officer for the Lower Alsace department.<\/p>\n

He was the only one in his family in law enforcement, having recently graduated college with a degree in criminal justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was always planning on working in enforcement,\u201d Serafin said. \u201cAnd I just did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Serafin\u2019s many impacts since then saw him emerge not only as chief of the Central Berks Regional Police Department, but as a force of unity for the officers under his command, and the communities they serve.<\/p>\n

He was instrumental in merging the Mount Penn and Lower Alsace departments into the Central Berks department in 1993.<\/p>\n

Serafin also played a critical role in the department\u2019s later expansion into St. Lawrence and Oley Township.<\/p>\n

Dedication honored<\/p>\n

Those impacts, and many more, were apparent in the packed house at the Mount Penn Borough office on Jan. 27 when dozens braved the icy weather for a celebration of Serafin\u2019s career and pending retirement.<\/p>\n

\"SaintSaint Lawrence Mayor Corrie Crupi-Zana along with Saint Lawrence Borough Council members give retiring Central Berks Police Chief Raymond Serafin a gift during a ceremony at the Mount Penn Borough Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u201cStitching together a department that oversees such a diverse area is a testament to Ray\u2019s leadership,\u201d Mount Penn Mayor Ryan Maurer said at the celebration.<\/p>\n

\"MountMount Penn Mayor Ryan Maurer gives retiring Central Berks Police Chief Raymond Serafin a gift during a ceremony at the Mount Penn Borough Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

Maurer was among the group of local and state officials who thanked Serafin for his dedication to the force and the communities it serves.<\/p>\n

\u201cRay brings something that we desperately need in our community and that I desperately want as a leader,\u201d said Jeffrey Spatz, chairman of the Oley Township supervisors. \u201cThat is a lack of drama and a lack of chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spatz said Serafin\u2019s response to issues was always prompt and professional.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had some bad situations in our little community,\u201d Spatz said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some really trying times. In those terrible times, the chief and his leadership and his team have done just an exceptional job.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Rep. Jacklyn Russnock and state Sen. Judy Schwank honored Serafin with citations recognizing his service.<\/p>\n

Schwank said Serafin struck her as a visionary.<\/p>\n

\"StateState Sen. Judy Schwank lauds retiring Central Berks Police Chief Raymond Serafin during a ceremony at the Mount Penn Borough Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only have you kept a regional force together, but you\u2019ve grown it to add more communities,\u201d Schwank said. \u201cThat says a lot about your leadership. Because of that, folks here know that they are in good hands, that they can be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwank also noted Serafin\u2019s role in establishing an annual National Night Out in Berks County.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s about letting people, from little kids to seniors, understand that this is their community, this is how police represent them,\u201d Serafin said. \u201cThat\u2019s such a great thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Serafin thanked the Central Berks municipalities for collaboration.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just me, it\u2019s the leaders and these guys sitting behind me,\u201d Serafin said, referring to the Central Berks police officers. \u201cWhat I\u2019m proud of is people are standing behind us to do the best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said each of the communities under Central Berks\u2019 purview requires a unique approach to policing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go from a city-type atmosphere to where cows are running in the street,\u201d Serafin said. \u201cIt\u2019s a nice thing. That\u2019s the thing I miss the most, is the people we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Serafin said he\u2019d also miss his officers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s family,\u201d Serafin said. \u201cYou\u2019re with them every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

New chief<\/p>\n

Serafin, whose last day Serafin\u2019s last day with the department was Feb. 2, also congratulated Sgt. Justin Johnson, who will be assuming the role as chief of police.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been with me for 25 years,\u201d Serafin said. \u201cI think he\u2019ll do a fabulous job. He\u2019s a very caring individual, he\u2019s community oriented. I think all those things will be to his benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson said he was grateful for Serafin\u2019s mentorship.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s prepared me well,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI\u2019m ready to jump in and get acclimated. I\u2019ve been here, home grown, so I know what to expect. I\u2019m looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AA retirement cake was part of the ceremony honoring Central Berks Police Chief Raymond Serafin. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly 41 years ago, Ray Serafin began his career as a part-time police officer for the Lower Alsace…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,139,28,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-109011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}