Acting Lieutenant Prides Himself on People Skills

Joseph Dawicki knew from an early age that he wanted to be a cop because it would allow him to make a positive difference in people's lives.

So when it came time to select a college major after four years at Fair Lawn High School, he passed on criminal justice and instead chose to study how to better understand the people he wanted to help.

“Sociology is the study of groups of people and psychology is the study of individuals," said Dawicki, who majored in the former and minored in the latter at Ramapo College. "This is a people business so it was a good learning experience to have both of those, so you cover both bases.”

Dawicki, a 12-year veteran of the Fair Lawn Police Department, was recently promoted to Acting Lieutenant as part of the departmental shuffle brought about by the retirements of Chief Erik Rose and Capt. Joseph Cook. He said his area of college study prepared him well to deal with both the community and his colleagues.

"I specialize in my people skills and my ability to relate to people in times of distress and in times of need, and my ability to lead effectively and lead by example," he said during a recent shift at the police desk.

As a lieutenant now in charge of a shift of patrolmen and sergeants, Dawicki spends more time inside than he used to. While he loves the new role, Dawicki said he believes it's important that he still gets out on the road on occasion.

"I’ll be on the road at least one day a week so that I stay fresh and that I can continue to do the job that I expect my sergeants and my patrolmen to do for me," he said. "I couldn’t ask them to do it if I couldn’t do it myself."

Dawicki, who said he loves the ever-changing nature of police work and the group of people he works with, has also put his people skills to work as an instructor.

Prior to becoming a sergeant, he spent four years as a field training officer and he currently teaches at the Bergen County Police Academy and conducts local departmental training. He's also a member of the Fair Lawn Honor Guard.

Dawicki and his wife, Deanna, live together in Fair Lawn. 

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