Jim Rose won't pose for a photo out of uniform. Nor will the Pinole police chief abandon his weekly foray in the patrol car, though his knees protest more now than they did at the beginning of his 40-year law enforcement career.

"Being a policeman is a way of life for me," Rose said. "It makes it a lot easier to stick around when you love something so much."

But health issues, particularly his knees, have helped Rose make the choice to move on. He will retire effective Friday, ending an eight-year tenure as Pinole's top cop.

Rose left his post as a commander in the Alameda County Sheriff's Office to head Pinole's small suburban department in 2000. The transition from a large organization to a small one came with attendant culture shock, but he quickly settled in.

"He's brought a lot of leadership to the organization, and a lot of great ideas," said Cmdr. Pete Janke, a 32-year department veteran. "When I came here years ago, it was a good department and there were good people here. And that's the way it is today."

Rose, the son of an Alameda County sheriff's deputy, worked in patrol and in a street team during the early 1970s before beginning a long career as a narcotics detective and supervisor that spanned the 1970s and 1980s.

During the 1980s he worked closely with an Oakland police supervisor named Doug Krathwohl — who later served as San Pablo's police chief from 1990 to 2005 — on Alameda County's first

Dublin, which contracts with the county for its police service, acquired Rose as its police chief in 1988. There he remained until then-Alameda County Sheriff Charlie Plummer brought him back to the larger Sheriff's Office bureaucracy in 1997. Rose finished his 30-year career there in 2000 as a division commander supervising 1,600 employees.

Pinole, with its 17 sworn officers and tenuous financial straits, little resembled the urban sheriff's department. A low pay scale for officers and the department's listless reputation made recruitment difficult. Very early in his tenure, Rose choked down his pride and asked Contra Costa Sheriff Warren Rupf for help.

"That was one of the most difficult things I had to do," Rose said. "But we were going through a cultural change in the department, and that takes time."

Pinole paid the sheriff's office for patrol and investigative service for about three years before the Pinole agency developed enough stability to stand on its own. Now with a complement of 35 sworn officers, Pinole maintains full-time detectives and specialty jobs such as motorcycle officer and police canine handler.

Rose's extensive connections in local law enforcement helped inject experience early. He courted into the fold several accomplished police officers near the ends of their careers in larger agencies, providing them a comfortable place to finish while providing the small city force with expertise and experience it could not easily develop on its own.

One of Alameda County's top homicide investigators now works in Pinole. Last year, Rose hired Cmdr. Paul Clancy after his retirement as a high-ranking supervisor in the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office.

Clancy will replace Rose as interim chief beginning next Saturday.

Rose does see some unfinished business. He hopes the new Community Preservation Unit, a combination of code enforcement and crime prevention efforts, will grow under his successor. He also believes the department can do more to provide in-house training.

For now, Rose hopes to continue teaching administration of justice classes at Las Positas and Chabot community colleges and perhaps embark on a new career as a law enforcement consultant. He says his chief apprehension is leaving the profession he loves — he does not feel finished with his police career and would not rule out a return as police chief.

The San Ramon resident does plan to take a little time to enjoy his family, including his partner of 15 years, "the lovely Lynn."

"The first week I'm going to take off, and I'm going to cook dinner for her every night," Rose said. "Then I'm going back to work."

Reach Karl Fischer at 510-262-2728 or kfischer@bayareanewsgroup.com.