SOUTH HADLEY — Jennifer Gundersen officially took the reins of the South Hadley Police Department on Friday morning, when she was sworn in as the town’s new chief of police.
Gundersen, who has 24 years of experience as a member of the police force, most recently as a police captain in Amherst, is the first woman to serve as South Hadley’s police chief.
Gundersen took on the role following the retirement of former police chief Steve Parentela, who joined the department in 1983 and became chief of police in 2016.
In a phone interview with the Gazette, Gundersen said that she hopes to spend the first few months of her new role “trying to learn the community, learn the town and learn the priorities,” noting that policing today requires an understanding of a variety of topics such as mental health and family issues.
Gundersen added that she also wants to assess community outreach, noting that she is “a firm believer that the police alone cannot address the crime and disorder that we have.”
“We rely heavily on the support of the community, but also the community being involved and helping us problem solve,” she continued.
Gundersen said that one issue she hopes to focus on is combating the opioid epidemic through employing harm reduction and offering resources such as counseling.
“It’s really two pronged,” Gundersen said of the issue. “How are narcotics getting into this community, and the other side of it is how are we being caretakers to families and people who are addicted?”
Gundersen added that she also hopes to continue supporting senior citizens and said that she is “really excited also to work in a community that has valued having a police officer in school, not only for the security value of it but as mentors.”
The town chooses its police chief based on recommendations by a three-person panel and Town Administrator Mike Sullivan, which are sent to the Select Board for approval. Gundersen was chosen for the role from a pool of over 25 applicants from five states.
Gundersen said she is “excited that I see more recruiting of female officers” and “to see more female officers taking leadership roles,” but that she is not focused on her gender as she assumes the position.
“First and foremost I’m just honored to be in this role,” she said.
“I think this is a community that’s well poised for progress,” Gundersen noted of South Hadley, “and I wanted to be on the front end of that.”
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Jennifer Gundersen’s last name in the photo captions.