As a reporter covering four Carthage police chiefs over the past 30 years, I still didn’t know what to expect when I interviewed our newest chief, Greg Dagnan.

Even though he is still quite young (by my standards), he has worked in some type of law enforcement since graduating in 1990 from Missouri Southern State University.

I found him affable, friendly, relaxed and at ease in the chief’s chair, but also sharp and knowledgeable when it comes to crime and management. Not surprising when you consider that before actually completing MSSU’s criminal justice program, he was chosen for a single opening being offered by Joplin Police Department — from among 120 candidates.

In 1997, Dagnan was tabbed to work as an investigator with the Jasper County prosecuting attorney’s office. He was employed there five years before being hired as executive director of the Children’s Center, an agency that assists in investigations of child abuse by conducting interviews, medical examinations and meetings with therapists, relieving children from traumatic appearances at police stations and in court.

His latest job took him back to MSSU, where he coordinated the crime-scene-investigation program. “It was an outstanding job — dealing with students every day and dealing with crime-scene investigations. We had all the tools,” Dagnan said, adding that interest was high because of the current popularity of “CSI” and similar television shows.

Still, the itch to carry the title of police chief was there. With encouragement from some Carthage supporters, he applied for the position left vacant by the resignation of Chief Dennis Veach, who was completing nine years with the department. He assumed the post in April.

“The advantage for me coming into this job is that I knew everybody,” Dagnan said. “It’s a very experienced department; a lot of officers have been here a long, long time. Of 30 commissioned officers, 10 have been here 20 years or more. I think that’s a tribute to the community and to the officers.”

Despite that loyalty, turnover has been Dagnan’s biggest obstacle. He notes five officers have left; four have been replaced. He believes it may be a generational problem. “A lot of our young people are constantly trying to look for something better,” he said. He hopes to counter that problem by keeping the pay scale competitive, building morale, “and giving officers opportunity to specialize.”

He is training a warrant-service team, will rotate detective spots and offer advanced instruction with the hope that officers will gain more satisfaction in their careers. “Right now, Officer Steve Crews is in Taser-gun school,” Dagnan said.

He is pleased with the reputation of law enforcement in Carthage, illustrating with a recent incident at the police substation at Wal-Mart. A clerk alerted the attending officer to a customer who had just bought an inordinate number of boxed matches. The officer’s quick action revealed that drug manufacturers were laboriously scratching the red phosphorus from the matches to formulate meth in a car lab.

Dagnan said the perpetrators lamented, “We should not have come to Carthage because we knew we would get caught.” The chief said, “There’s not a city in Jasper County that does not consider meth as one of their highest problem areas.”

Upcoming events where Carthage officers play a large role — Mudstock and Marion Days — are just about down to a science, Dagnan said. Mudstock, a mud-flopping free-for-all for kids, will be held Saturday. Southwest Community Alliance and Carthage Drug-Free Communities will supervise this year with advice from old pros like officers Kevin Provins, Laverne Williams, Doug Dicky and Van Bennett.

As for Marion Days, Officers Bill Barksdale, Bill Hawkins and Barry Duncan already have done resident checks to see who will accept the visitors on their lawns and driveways, and who will not. An advantage this year, Dagnan said, is a certified translator provided by the FBI. Previously, the police had to rely on anyone they could find who spoke Vietnamese and English.

Problems may be less frequent and less intense than they used to be at Marian Days, but Dagnan said any time you try to bring in a population the size of Joplin’s and contain it in a 10-block area, “You are going to have problems.” He is counting on experienced officers, and his own law-enforcement experience, to deal with those problems.