A police department in Rockland County has a new leader.

John Gould is the new chief of police for the Haverstraw Police Department.

"This is more than a job to me. This is personal,” said Chief Gould. “I take it personal because this is where I live."

Gould also grew up in the town. News 12 interviewed him at headquarters on Friday.

He was sworn in earlier this week taking the helm from Patrick Murphy.

Gould started his law enforcement career with the Mount Vernon Police Department for three years before joining Haverstraw where he’s been for 17 years.

Gould’s father also served in the department.

The new chief tells News 12 he wants to build on relationships with other area law enforcement agencies, handle quality of life issues and connect with local schools.

"As long as I can do it and I know I'm doing a good job and the jobs getting done,” said Chief Gould. “I'm going to stay here until I feel that can't happen anymore."

He plans to be very visible to the community he serves.

"I'm always out there - visible. And I'm going to continue to be that way in this role because I want to be approachable. I want people to come to me. I want people to talk to me. Tell me what their issues are, any complaints they may have, because if I don't know what the problem is, I can't fix it," he says.

The Town of Haverstraw’s population is said to be nearly 39,000 people, according to Census data.