Kempf is a Cherry Hill West alumnus who began his career as a patrol officer in the police department in 1998.
Chief Robert Kempf has announced he will retire from the Cherry Hill police department on Dec. 31, after more than two decades on the force.
“During my time working with him as mayor, he has shared my and our commitment to public safety, enhancing the quality of life in our community,” Mayor David Fleisher said of Kempf. “So thank you very much chief.”
Similar remarks were made by other council members at the Oct. 15 meeting where Kempf’s retirement was announced, including Sangeeta Doshi.
“To reiterate what the mayor has said, you’ve always been very professional,” Doshi told the chief. “I was raised that you should always leave a place much better than you found it, and Cherry Hill is a much better place because you were here. So thank you.”
Kempf is a Cherry Hill West alumni who began his career as a patrol officer in the township in 1998. In 2012, he took on the role of detective, serving for two years before becoming a patrol sergeant in 2014, a detective sergeant in 2015 and a lieutenant in 2016. In that role , Kempf was promoted to training officers before becoming police chief in 2021.
“I just always loved Cherry Hill,” he said. “I knew I was going to raise my family here, and so how best to be a part of the community than to help protect it and keep it safe?”
In his three years as chief, Kempf was proudest of earning the department’s first accreditation by the New Jersey State Chief of Police and partnering with the Volunteers of America to bring social programs to the township. Among them is Impact, which helps the police aid the homeless and other people in need. The police department is working with the state attorney general and recently began the rollout of Arrive Together, a program that will enable mental-health professionals to ride with officers.
Though Kempf has seen many things in his 26 years with the department, he tries to keep a positive mindset on the job.
“For all the bad things that we see, we truly do have an opportunity to help people in sometimes the worst day in their life,” he observed, “and so I always try to keep that mindset that I’m coming here and not to make anyone’s life worse but to try and help.
“We might be that one instrumental part – that you can really be that compassionate shoulder to cry on on somebody’s worst day.”
Fleisher said he will soon begin interviews for the next chief, someone who shares the township’s commitment to high standards, professionalism, effectiveness and cultivation of strong bonds in all corners of the community.
In other news:
- Ravi’s Rink at DeCou Fields has begun construction; the project is estimated to be completed within a few months.
- Fleisher and council acknowledged the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, and several council members also attended a day of service at the JCC.
The next council meeting will be on Monday, Oct. 28.
