ALBERT LEA — A chapter ended in the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday.

After more than 27 years of working for the department, Freeborn County Sheriff Bob Kindler served his last day on Tuesday, along with Freeborn County jail administrator Steve Westland, who had worked for the county for almost 23 years.

Freeborn County Sheriff-elect Kurt Freitag, who defeated Kindler in the November election, was unofficially sworn in but will have an official public swearing-in ceremony on Monday, said County Administrator John Kluever.

Kindler said at this point he has no plans to continue in law enforcement and wants to take a few months off before he makes any career decisions.

“I’m going to walk out of here proud about my accomplishments,” he said. “I’m excited about what the future holds. There’s a world of opportunity.”

Kindler began in Freeborn County in 1987 as a patrol deputy after a short stint with the Austin Police Department. In 1992, he was promoted to detective, handling welfare fraud investigations and crimes against people.

In 1995, he was promoted to detective-supervisor, and he was elected sheriff in 2010 against former Sheriff Mark Harig.

He said he has been amazed at the advancements in technology — in everything from radios, to computers in squad cars to digital photography — since he started and said he was proud to be a part of the launching of the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response system in 2011, which he said has improved communication immensely for emergency responders.

Some of the other highlights from his time as sheriff included reorganizing the department and saving the county several hundred thousand dollars and making the Sheriff’s Office more professional and responsive to to the residents, he said. The squad cars were also outfitted with new graphics, and a new patch was designed for the deputy uniforms, to name a few.

“I think overall I’m very happy with what I accomplished and pleased with the way things turned out,” he said.

Westland said when he first started working for the county as part of the line staff in the jail, people were being booked into the jail with typewriters. He worked in the former jail, which had 38 beds and at the time 10 staff members.

The new jail, licensed for 148 beds, has 34 staff. He commented on the increase in security for both the staff and inmates, calling it a “night-and-day difference.”

As of Tuesday, an announcement had not been made for a new jail administrator, but Westland anticipated Assistant Jail Administrator Rick Overocker stepping up in the interim.

Kindler said there are some things he will not miss about the job, including late nights, many meetings, being on call 24/7 and responding to events in poor weather. He said he is also relieved to not have to worry about the welfare of the other deputies and noted that was always one of his top concerns.

“That’s a burden lifted to not have to worry about that,” he said.

Both men said they look forward to spending more time with family.

Westland said he had no immediate plans except to be available for his grandchildren.