Steven Heinly is making history inside of the West Lampeter Township Police Department.

On Sept. 28, Heinly was sworn in as the department's eighth chief of police, becoming the first chief to be promoted from within the department. He succeeds Brian Wiczkowski, who served in the position for the past 12 years.

Heinly, a resident of the township, started with the department in 1997 after graduating from Penn State University with a degree in administration of justice. Since arriving in West Lampeter, Heinly has been promoted to roles such as detective, detective sergeant and lieutenant.

Now, he has the department's top job. Since West Lampeter Township launched its own police department in 1950, there have only been eight officers that have held the prestigious position.

"It's actually kind of neat that they entrusted me to take over," Heinly said. "I take a lot of pride in that. I'm proud to be the first chief that they've instilled that responsibility for."

A Berks County native, Heinly found his way to West Lampeter after attending Harrisburg Area Community College's police academy, where he met James Walsh, then the chief of West Lampeter Township Police Department.

Walsh encouraged Heinly to apply to the department, and the rest is history. During his time in West Lampeter, Heinly was a driving force behind the department's now-defunct bicycle patrol program; he could often be found patrolling on a bicycle at Kendig Square and other Willow Street neighborhoods.

"When I first did an internship with State College (Police Department) when I was in college, they had a bike patrol unit," Heinly explained. "I followed them around on a couple shifts, and I just thought that was something that would benefit the community. ... You get out from behind the patrol car, you ride through the neighborhoods. There's no barriers with the police car, so more people opt to talk to you."

Heinly explained that ever since he was a kid, he knew he wanted to be a police officer. He looked up to the officers from his community and pursued further education to become like them. Along with his undergraduate degree from Penn State, he also obtained a master's degree in justice administration from Norwich University in Vermont in 2007.

"I'm a people person," he said. "I like making contacts out in the community, talking to people. When I was on patrol, I remember stopping and playing basketball with some of the kids that were in the neighborhoods shooting hoops at night."

Heinly has spent some time outside of the department, working part time with Elizabethtown Police Department and for the county. But he never left West Lampeter.

Heinly has invested nearly three decades into the township. Now, it is investing back into him.

"My upbringing was, you find a place you like and make it your home," he said. "The saying is that the grass is greener on the other side, but I always thought we were the green grass."

The department also recently announced Evan Shubrooks' promotion to the rank of sergeant. Shubrooks joined the department in 2015 and has since received commendations for combatting aggressive driving, distracted driving, speeding, and impaired driving.