Community focus is new chief’s vision

Creston’s new chief of police joins the department with local ties and a variety of experience.

Chief Cameron Hale was sworn in as Creston Police Chief Monday, Sept. 22, after being unanimously recommended for the role by an interviewing committee.

Joining Creston after seven years with the Altoona Police Department, Hale has been in public service since he was 16 years old, starting with a Nebraska fire department.

“I then just progressed in public safety and law enforcement from there,“ Hale said. ”We transitioned to Iowa and the Des Moines area in 2018 when I got hired on at the Altoona Police Department and then just sky-rocketed my career there from progressive leadership."

Other public safety jobs include deputy sheriff in Butler and York counties in Nebraska and fire captain in Bradshaw, Nebraska.

In Altoona, Hale has worked as a K-9 handler alongside K-9 Duke since April 2020, as well as a crisis negotiator since October 2020.

As chief, Hale said he’s hoping to collaborate with the community and make sure the police force is approachable.

“My big background is community policing. It’s working with the community, collaborating with the community, all the stakeholders, church groups, stuff like that, just building a better relationship with the community as a whole,” Hale said. “If we’re able to build those relationships with the community, that’s going to return into us and doing our jobs and being able to provide a safer place for people to live and work in the city of Creston.”

Hale said he plans to have an open-door policy and is looking forward to hearing from the community.

The new chief and his family will be moving to Creston in the coming weeks. He and his wife Madison have two children: Tucker, 6, and Harper, 1. Madison owns the Uptown business Greens N’ Things alongside her mother, Colleen Van Gorp.

With a Nebraska upbringing, Hale says he’s a Husker fan by birth. However, he’s also an Iowa State fan by marriage.

Hale will officially step into the position Monday, Oct. 6, taking over for interim-Chief Jared Auten.