Year in review: Chief Edward Frost sworn in
In a changing of the guard, Edward Frost replaced David Hegermiller as Chief of the Riverhead Police Department. Chief Hegermiller retired after serving 23 years as chief and 42 total years with the department.
Mr. Frost, 54, joined the Riverhead Police Department right out of the police academy in June 1994 and held various sergeant roles throughout his three-decades-long career. He was promoted to detective sergeant in 2015 and held that position until he became a lieutenant in 2021. The new chief has lived in Wading River for the last 36 years.
He has charged the Police Athletic League in Riverhead for the past two years, which is a nonprofit organization that provides youth sports programs throughout Suffolk County. He is also the head of the Juvenile Aid Bureau, where all youths who have committed a crime under the age of 16 are processed. This sector of the police department is also for the Youth Court, a voluntary alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system designed for first time offenders ages 16 and under.
Chief Frost is focused on securing cutting-edge technology and equipment for the department and strengthening the bonds between town police and the community.
Some of the changes he envisions includes strengthening community relations, addressing quality of life issues in the downtown area, partnering with other local law enforcement agencies, reviewing police staffing to get the number of officers up to 100, and creating grant opportunities to assist the police department with equipment purchases and technological advances.
Mr. Frost has already implemented some changes. The new chief is outfitting department members with body cameras, paid for with state grant money that came through earlier this year, and putting license plate readers on all patrol cars. He is upgrading the department’s translation software, which allows police to reach a translator in real time to help them communicate in any language.
The department is training on a new records management system that allows Riverhead police to interface with more than a dozen other departments, including the Suffolk County Police Department, to find outstanding warrants, arrest records and police reports from other jurisdictions on suspects charged in Riverhead.
From a tactical point of view, Chief Frost has revived the crime control unit, which is focused on misdemeanor charges with an eye toward future prosecutions — and is overseen by a sergeant with experience in the detective division.
Original reporting by Ana Borruto and Chris Francescani.
