NJ CPM Grad Named New Fire Chief of Atlantic Highlands

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NJ – “My goals are to continue to provide the best possible service to this community and be as transparent as possible with the public, and to get the youth involved in our community so they can get to know our names and get comfortable with us.”

These are only two of the high standards that are important,  the borough’s newest Police Chief Scott Reinert said in his first interview after taking over the top post March 1 from retiring chief David Rossbach.

Nor does he look at either of his primary goals as anything difficult to achieve.  “I believe the former Chiefs of this department have laid a great foundation for this department,” he stressed, and added. “Chief Rossbach did a great job of preparing me for this position.  I moved up the ranks very quickly with the retirements of Captain Stone (Thomas) and Chief Rossbach so I suddenly collected many responsibilities.” Taking advantage of all the experience and lessons he has gained from predecessors the Chief added, “I am currently working on passing on the responsibilities that I had while completing the responsibilities I have now.”

That he comes to the position well qualified and enthusiastic cannot be denied. A native of Manalapan, the chief is a graduate of St. John Vianney High School before earning a degree in business administration from Iona College in New York. More recently, he also completed in-service Certified Public Manager training with Rutgers University.

His first taste of working in law enforcement  came in Sea Girt where he was hired as a Class II Special Officer. After attending the Cape May County Police Academy, and spending two summers on the job in Sea Girt, it was enough to convince the enthusiastic and dedicated officer he wanted to be in law enforcement all his life. 

Now as the head of the department, Reinert wants to continue the high standards that have been set by every previous chief as well as establish new ones of his own.  “I want to get the youth involved in our community by establishing a police explorer program so the teens can really get to know us. It can also serve as a great recruitment tool for future hiring processes and would be a great opportunity for the youth to see if they want to pursue a career in law enforcement.”

   But he has also set some pretty impressive goals for himself. “I want to be able to look back at my career and leave it feeling I contributed to making a difference in people’s lives.”