Rollins ready for move to ISP headquarters

COEUR d'ALENE - Idaho State Police Capt. Clark Rollins will come back.

The Region 1 commander has every intention of returning to Coeur d'Alene after he takes his new position at the department's headquarters division in Meridian as captain over internal investigations and department budgets.

To run and audit.

"I'll still come up for the Spokane to Sandpoint relay race," Rollins said Wednesday of the 185-mile relay race he runs annually. "And yearly audits will come up."

Rollins, from Pocatello, is taking his new position in mid October to move his family closer to his wife Toni's hometown near Meridian. Rollins has been ISP captain of investigations since 2002, and took over as patrol captain in 2006.

"It's closer to home," Rollins said. "The time was right the location was right for my family. I thought it was good move for us."

Taking over for Rollins will be Lt. Curtis Kastens, head of the region's investigations. With the ISP for 21 years, Kastens was a Kootenai County Sheriff's deputy before that as well as a police officer in Fairfield, Calif., after graduating from Sacramento State College.

"Cooperation with the locals and the neighboring agencies will still be there and will still be a priority of mine," Kastens said. "It's a good challenge, I'm looking forward to it. I plan as a representative of ISP and as a captain to keep that going."

Rollins said the cooperation between law enforcement agencies in the region is what he'll miss most about the North Idaho office.

He first worked in Coeur d'Alene in 1985 for one year, before transferring. He also worked in Pocatello and Lewiston before returning to Coeur d'Alene in 2002.

"I can't say enough good things about this region, the staff is outstanding, the relationships with other agencies is the best that I've seen," Rollins said. "I hate leaving because of that cooperation, but for family, it's just time."

Kastens, from Kansas originally, said operating at full power on a smaller budget will be an important challenge for the department as it moves forward. He said they are currently down eight positions, but learning under Rollins will help ease into the transition as captain.

"Clark will be missed, he's good guy," Kastens said. "We're going in the right direction in that we'll continue in carrying out the mission of ISP."