New Community Service officer outlines plans

READING – Officer Kristen Stasiak has spent her entire life living and working in Reading, and now after a decade working in the Reading Police Department as a patrol officer, she’ll now have a chance to be more involved with the community than ever before.

Last week Stasiak was named the department’s new Community Service Officer, a role in which she will be responsible for organizing and facilitating police community events, and will also make her the department’s main representative for town-run activities.

For the 32-year-old Reading native, the move is a big step forward after 10 years of hard work, and she can’t wait to get started.

“I absolutely love it,” Stasiak said, adding that she has already begun organizing some upcoming events. “We are going to have an open house in May, which we haven’t had in a while, and right now I’m working with the Sherriff’s department to put on a safety program with the Senior Citizens in town.”

Stasiak, who graduated from Reading Memorial High School in 2001 and went on to receive a degree in criminal justice from Northeastern University in 2006, has spent nearly all of her professional career serving in Reading. The only exception was a brief stretch when she served as a cadet in Waltham shortly after graduating, but as soon as a position opened up in Reading, she jumped at the chance to come home.

Since then, Stasiak has worked in the patrol division and eventually became a certified Field Training Officer, which allowed her to teach brand new officers fresh out of the academy.

One of the other big highlights of her time in the force has been her involvement in the local Rape Aggression Defense and radKIDS programs, which aim to help teach women and children important self-defense techniques.

“I have truly enjoyed my RAD instructorship, every class I do I connect with the women and children,” Stasiak said. “It’s a great program and it truly makes me happy to empower these people.”

Outside of work, Stasiak said she enjoys running and traveling. Among the highlights, she has traveled to South Korea, Australia and backpacked around Europe for two weeks.

Stasiak also said her favorite place to visit locally is DiCara’s Deli on North Main Street, where she usually goes for the arancini, but she also loves to spend time in the downtown area, which she said is one of the town’s biggest charms.

“I love the small town feel, the downtown area, the businesses,” she said. “Walkers Brook is a little newer but it’s nice to have that small town feel in the downtown area.”

Kristen Stasiak

Age: 32

Position: Community Service Officer/Field Training Officer

Years of experience: 10 years, all in Reading

Family: Not married

Hometown: Reading

Education: RMHS ‘01, Northeastern ’06 (Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice),

Honors: Rape Aggression Defense instructor and radKids instructor

Favorite Place to Go: DiCara’s on North Main.