He is the third interim chief Sunnyvale has appointed since former Chief Ernie Bakin injured himself on the job last year.

Bakin officially retired Aug. 8, which is when the search for a new department of public safety director began.

With the city manager's seat also vacant, Sunnyvale is now in the process of searching for two of its most important city officials.

Dwyer will oversee public safety's operations until a permanent replacement can be found.

Dwyer understands what an interim chief must do because he filled an interim position in Hayward after he retired from Palo Alto in 2003.

"I've learned not to be cocky, not to come into a place and think I have all the answers," Dwyer said. "The first thing I learned is that I have to take advantage of and harness the knowledge of the officers that I'm fortunate enough to work with."

To get up to speed on operations and procedures, Dwyer has already had multiple meetings with the eight captains in the department. Several of them he had met before through joint operations with Palo Alto and San Jose over the years, so he is familiar with some of the Sunnyvale staff.

"It's a lot easier to hit the ground running when you already know the players," Dwyer said.

He said it looks like Sunnyvale and Palo Alto are similar in terms of crime rates and community reaction to crimes, as opposed to San Jose and Hayward, who have higher crime rates because they are more urban, with more "blighted" areas.

And although he's only been in Sunnyvale for a short time, Dwyer has already begun planning work he wants to see done, both internally and externally, to make the department work better for the community.

Internally, he wants to improve the communication among all levels of the force to make officers more accountable. He also wants to give experienced members of the force—like the eight captains he is working closely with—a chance to use the experience they've gained over their years in Sunnyvale.

"We need to take a look at how we're doing things and take all this knowledge we have here and use it properly," Dwyer said.

Externally, Dwyer is concerned about rumblings of a growing gang problem in town. Dwyer was director of special operations for San Jose, overseeing gang investigation and other "ninja-units," as he affectionately referred to the specialized teams.

His experience with that, his concern for children and the fact that his son is a gang officer in San Jose has led to his interest in gang prevention and investigation.

While he was unfamiliar with many of the department's programs, he was glad to learn about the after-school boxing program for gang deterrence run at Columbia Middle School by a Sunnyvale officer.

His other concern is Sunnyvale's traffic safety, something he says he is concerned with wherever he goes. Dwyer said he'll get to see how Sunnyvale handles traffic problems with the upcoming holiday season and the "Avoid the 13" program to deter drunk drivers.

But before he can begin to make changes, Dwyer said he just wants to get to know the people he's working with. While there is work to be done in the department, Dwyer said he is impressed so far.

"I'm really excited about the quality of the people and the city here; they're very energetic and very good at what they do," Dwyer said. "I'd stack these people up against anyone, and I've only been here for a few days."