Caledonia's New Chief Promises More Public Education and Crime Prevention

Toby Schey, a 20-year member of the Caledonia Police Department, will be sworn in as the police chief during the Caledonia's Board meeting Monday night.

But the reality of the appointment, made Thursday night by the Police and Fire Commission, hasn’t quite set in yet, Schey said.

Still, he has plenty of ideas about how he wants to run the department.

On Tuesday morning, Schey, 49, will get to work, meet with staff and reorganize the department temporarily until he can make promotions. The department is transitioning their dispatch services with the Racine County Joint Dispatch, and upgrading their radio tower. Once that is done, Schey will work on more long-range strategic plan.

“I want a lot of collaboration and I believe in a participatory type management style,” Schey said. “We have a lot of experienced people on our department and I value their judgment.”

But the department has also been in limbo after former Police Chief, Jeff Meier, and Lieutenant Keith Stannis resigned, and Curtis Schollmeier, a police officer, was charged in December with a misdemeanor for allegedly pointing his gun at another police officer. After Meier resigned, John Barnes, assistant chief, became the Interim Chief. He too vied for the chief of police position, but it was Barnes who encouraged Schey to pursue the job.

“He (Barnes) has been very supportive of my career,” Schey said. “He’s the one who encouraged me to pursue the job. Even now I can feel for him and his family, this has been very difficult for him. He’s been loyal and he works extremely hard.”

But Barnes and Schey both knew they were vying for the same position.

“I know I can work with him,” Schey said. “We’ve talked about this.”

Now, Barnes will go back to his original job.

“I’m here to support the chief of police, that’s my job and that’s what I’m here to do. And they (the Commission) made the right decision,” Barnes said.

So what will Schey’s priorities be as he seeks to refocus the department?

They include focusing on public education and expanding crime prevention efforts. Schey wants to get more into community policing and work with the community to identify problems. But at the top of the list is gaining public trust and reinforcing the mission statement to boost morale within the department.

“We have a lot of quality people…we’ve had few incidents with staff and that taints everyone,” Schey said.

Schey is married to his wife, Kerri, who is a nurse at Wheaton Franciscan. They have three children, with two in college, and one in high school. The couple currently lives in Oak Creek, but they will move to Caledonia.

Schey’s educational background includes an associate’s degree from North Hennepin Community College, a Bachelor’s degree from Carthage College in criminal justice and he’s a graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Certified Public Managers program. He is also a member of the Wisconsin Society of Public Managers and the American Society of Public Managers.

With his background rooted in police work and public policy, the department needs to focus on its values.

“We need to try to deliver a high level of service, but also be efficient,” Schey said.