When Craig Stone started as the new chief of Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety in March, his first goal was to have one-on-one meetings with each of his 200 employees.

“I thought that was something important, to let employees know they have a voice,” Stone said. “I wanted to hear about the past of the organization, that helped me learn ways to motivate staff and also prepare us for the future.”

Stone went through a series of interviews with SU staff before he was chosen for the position, which began in April. This fall will be his first full semester as DPS chief, and he aims to improve the department’s relationship with the SU community through a new community training initiative.

“I don’t want to rest on the laurels of the prior administration. I want us to be the best of the best,” Stone said, adding that he admires the work of previous Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado.

Stone has served as chief of police for Cleveland State University, The Ohio State University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also served for nearly 30 years as a police officer in Columbus, Ohio, including over a decade as a lieutenant in Homeland Security, Internal Affairs and Patrol and Staff Inspections.

Stone founded a Community Police Academy during his time as Executive Director of Public Safety and Chief of Police, said Dan Hedman, director of marketing and communications at Ohio State University. The four week program, which teaches Syracuse community members the basics of policing, will be making its debut at SU this semester, Stone announced on Aug. 5.

“I enjoyed my time working along Chief Stone,” Hedman said. “Student dialogue, events and outreach with marginalized groups was important to Chief Stone and remains important to OSUPD (The Ohio State University Police Division).”

Portrait of Craig Stone.

Courtesy of Syracuse University

The academy will meet every Wednesday in October and will include discussions on DPS programs, policies and procedures. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to do a building search, aid in a traffic stop, learn how to take fingerprints and spend several hours on a ride-along before graduating from the academy.

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and have no felony convictions, according to SU’s DPS community policing academy website. They must also consent to a background check.

“We’re developing community ambassadors,” Stone said. “The graduates will be more apt to call us when they see something that’s suspicious, something that doesn’t look right. We’re developing liaisons and so that’ll be great for us and for the community.”

Universities with similar programs usually refer to them as a citizen police academy, but Stone said the phrasing is not inclusive enough.

“(We are) purposely and intentionally calling it a community police academy to recognize some of our students, faculty and staff may not be citizens, and we want them to feel welcome,” Stone said.

Patrick Wade, senior director of strategic communications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said Stone had a lasting impact on the university. Stone helped the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois NAACP State Conference create a list of 10 shared principles the community agreed upon, including the core values of human dignity and the right to life, Wade said.

Two years later, the 10 principles still hang on the wall of the Illinois’ DPS department briefing room, Wade said.

“It’s very front and center visible for all of our officers to see,” Wade said. “That was one of Craig Stone’s initiatives that I think still has an impact to this day.”

Gwenn Judge, SU Interim senior vice president and chief financial officer, especially noticed Stone’s past experience during the hiring process.

“Craig stood out as a genuine leader, a bridge-builder and an innovator throughout his career,” Judge said. “I had been impressed with Craig throughout the interview process, and I knew he would be a good fit for our campus community.”

Stone is a goal-oriented leader who communicated clearly with staff to accomplish his visions at Illinois, Wade said.
The chief plans to seek advanced accreditation through The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, or CALEA, which focuses on community-oriented policing.

SU is in CALEA’s first tier, which is made up of 180 standards for campus safety. Safety agencies meet these standards when they provide a certain service or protection, such as victim witness services or use of force reports, to the community. Advanced accreditation requires 458 standards.

“Once he got his mind set on a goal he did everything he could to make sure we accomplish that goal,” Wade said.

Prior to his roles in community policing, Stone received a bachelor of business administration in organizational leadership from Mount Vernon Nazarene University and a master of science in the administration of justice from the University of Louisville.

He hopes bringing the community policing program to SU will help foster a relationship with community members, increasing the likelihood they reach out to DPS for help in emergencies.

Stone also founded a youth leadership camp at Illinois that partnered with university departments and community organizations to teach incoming high school freshman leadership skills and encourage them to pursue higher education. The camp focused on showing students that college education is attainable for them, Wade said.

“Craig Stone is one of those people who is very community-minded,” Wade said. “He actually brought (community sentiments) back, shared (them) with us and we would figure out how to move forward.”

Chief Stone said he views SU students like his own family, which makes their safety imperative to him.

“The reason why we’re here is because of the students,” Stone said. “They may make a mistake, they may fall down, but we’re here to help them get back up on their feet.”

Published on August 30, 2022 at 12:29 am

Contact Katie: ksmcclel@syr.edu | @katie_mcclellan