Jaffrey police Sgt. Thomas Bishop has been promoted to lieutenant, stepping into the department’s second-in-command role following a leadership change-up earlier this year.

Bishop’s promotion follows the retirement of Police Chief Todd Muilenberg and the elevation of former Lt. Christopher LaBrecque to chief. Both LaBrecque and Bishop have spent years rising through the ranks in Jaffrey, marking a continuation of in-house leadership for the department.

LaBrecque joined the Jaffrey Police Department in 2013 as a patrol officer and was promoted to master patrol officer in 2015, sergeant in 2017 and lieutenant in 2020 before being named chief on February 11.

Bishop, a Jaffrey native, began his law enforcement career in corrections before joining the department in 2007. He was promoted to sergeant in 2020 and held that role until his recent advancement.

“I’m from a small town community, and it made sense to give back to the community I grew up in,” Bishop said, of what attracted him to small-town policing. “I happened to be lucky enough to get hired in the community I’m from.”

Bishop said his long tenure in Jaffrey, along with mentorship from past leadership, prepared him for what he called the “rightful next step” in his career. He added that he intends to spend the rest of his career serving the town.

He said one of the benefits of the Jaffrey Police Department is the longevity of its officers, which he said has helped connect the department and community, not just during emergencies, but through community outreach such as speaking at the local schools and driver’s education classes, and initiatives like Cone with a Cop and National Night Out.

“It’s twofold,” said Bishop. “You learn all aspects of the community, and you develop relationships. When people know you and you’re a familiar face, you learn mutual respect. Having a familiar face on a call has been extremely beneficial — it definitely pays dividends when we’re responding to calls.

Bishop was formally sworn in as lieutenant during a pinning ceremony at the Jaffrey Police Department on Feb. 24.