Bio: Chief of Police
On April 21, 2008 Robert C. Payne was sworn in as the Chief of Police for the Borough of Edgewood. Chief Payne has been a certified police officer for thirty-nine years and has worked in several different capacities as a law enforcement officer throughout his career. Prior to his career in law enforcement Chief Payne was a veteran in the United States Army and served in the Vietnam War.
Chief Payne began his policing career as a member of the Allegheny County Police Department, after being hired in 1973. He worked twenty-six years there and retired at the rank of Sergeant. Twenty-one years were spent as a detective and then supervisor in the homicide investigations unit.
Upon retiring from the county police, Chief Payne went to work as a Sergeant for the Carnegie Mellon University Police Department and then as Chief of Police for Carlow College, where he helped create a full-time police department.
In 2003 he became the Chief of Police in the Borough of Pitcairn. The management experience gained there resulted in his appointment as the Chief of Police in the Borough of Plum, making him responsible for a large budget and over thirty employees.
Chief Payne eventually decided to leave the law enforcement profession for a job in the private sector after an opportunity with Coca-Cola Enterprises presented itself. He was named the security manager for a large geographical region encompassing parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Although he enjoyed his position there he realized that law enforcement was his true calling and wanted to return to the job he knew best and missed. The opening here in the Borough of Edgewood came along early in 2008 and the rest is history. Chief Payne’s qualifications made for an easy decision that he was the right candidate for the job here.
Some of Chief Payne’s other qualifications include the following:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology from the University of Pittsburgh
- Certified forensic hypnotist
- Certified expert witness in domestic violence
- Certified Master Instructor for the Municipal Police Officer’s Education and Training Commission (MPOETC)
- FBI certified hostage negotiator
- Police academy recruit training instructor
- Instructor for the Traffic Institute for Police Services, PA Department of Education
- Various other certifications
