Syracuse University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) is hosting a hybrid conference “Collecting the Medieval Book in America,” on Feb. 26 from 4 to 7 p.m. EST. The event will take place in person in Bird Library’s Peter Graham…
Chief Craig Stone Talks Campus Safety and Busting DPS Misconceptions on the ‘’Cuse Conversations’ Podcast
What does it take to keep 21,000-plus students safe on a thriving residential campus in the heart of an urban area? We attempt to answer this question and others on the latest episode of “’Cuse Conversations” featuring Associate Vice President and Chief of Campus Safety and Emergency Services Craig Stone. Chief Stone joined the team at Syracuse University this past spring and his team works 24/7/365 to protect our community and ensure the University is a safe place to live, learn and work.
This interview covers his new role and his background in campus safety and law enforcement; the priorities for his tenure as chief; ways the Department of Public Safety (DPS) is inviting community members to engage with it this fall; common misconceptions about DPS; and strategies for protecting yourself and your belongings on campus.
Check out the full podcast with Chief Stone. A transcript [PDF] is also available.
01Tell me a bit about your background and career path prior to joining the team at Syracuse University.
I have a master’s degree in administration of justice from the University of Louisville, and I served four years as an adjunct professor and subject matter expert at Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio. I have over 37 years of public safety experience, which includes over 29 years of service with the Columbus Division of Police, where I retired as a lieutenant.
For my higher ed experience, I served as director of campus safety and chief of police at Cleveland State University, chief of police at The Ohio State University (OSU) and executive director of public safety and chief of police for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of I).
In the last two years, I served as deputy director of public safety for the city of Columbus, Ohio, and I’m also a team lead assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. And I’ve been doing that for 18 years.
02Did you always know you wanted to go into law enforcement and become a police officer? How did you get started on your career path?
Growing up, I had no desire to be a police officer, never thought about it. In the fourth grade, I did serve as safety patrol, and I enjoyed it. But Columbus had a big recruitment drive in the early ’80s and it caught my attention. I started asking questions of three police officers that I was familiar with to learn about the profession. I had a desire to help people and thought my integrity, character, communication skills and physical abilities would be a good fit for a rewarding career as a police officer. All three of those officers encouraged me to apply and I’m still enjoying myself.
03You joined Syracuse University in early April. What has stood out to you in these first few months on the job?
It is a special place. There are many opportunities for students to be involved and obtain hands-on experience at Syracuse University.
I’ve been interviewed by the student-run media, The Daily Orange and also CitrusTV. I’ve went on numerous ride-alongs with our peace officers and observed Syracuse University Ambulance, which is a student-run organization responding to medical emergencies, helping other students.
It’s very exciting to know that this is a special place where students can really get firsthand experience that they can take with them
04I know building community trust is a big priority for you as you step into this new role and you’ve made efforts to engage with students. Can you tell me about some of those engagement opportunities?
I came on board toward the end of the spring semester, but I was able to meet with David Bruen, president, and Adia Santos, vice president, of the Student Association and Yousr Dhaouadi, president of the Graduate Student Organization. I look forward to working with their members and expanding our ability to be able to connect and communicate with them, their initiatives and our initiatives, promoting that dialogue and working together to keep the campus safe.
I’ve also met with the Community Review Board (CRB). I attended their public forum, offering support so they can carry out their duties, and I’ve attended meetings with CRB leadership, led by Brianna Sclafani, chair and a graduate law student here; senior advisor Bea González, former vice president for community engagement and special assistant to the Chancellor; and Tony Perez, expert law enforcement consultant.
One of the things that we did at OSU and U of I that we’re going to bring here is a Community Police Academy, starting in October for students, faculty and staff. It’s a four-week program and participants will learn more about us, we’ll learn more about them. It’s going to be very interactive and fun and it will help us build trust and relationships and also build ambassadors.
Also, we are accepting nominations for our Student of Color Advisory Board. I look forward to building those relationships and making sure everyone feels like they belong and are welcome here at the University.
05What would you tell the parent of an incoming first-year student about their student being safe on campus?
First of all, I’d let them know we’re a 24/7 operation. We don’t close and our top priority is keeping the campus community safe. We also follow the best-recognized industry practices and are accredited by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) and the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), and we’re certified by the National Weather Service as a StormReady university.
We have sworn police officers on campus that are highly visible, either on foot, on bike or mobile patrol. We have community service officers that perform a variety of security, safety and community service duties associated with the protection of life and property. We also have something that’s unique—residential community safety officers stationed at the front desk of each residential hall to make sure that only students that have IDs are getting in. Also, access to the residential halls require the students to swipe their IDs. Our Communications Center has trained dispatchers and call takers who answer emergency and non-emergency calls for service.
As far as technology, we have over 150 blue light emergency phones on campus and more than 2,100 security camera views on campus. We also have fire and life safety inspectors who proactively conduct fire prevention and programming and conduct fire inspections. We have an Orange Safe mobile safety app, which allows students to receive email, phone and text notifications and alerts and has a Safe Walk feature. The University has a free shuttle service for our students, as well.
We work closely with our public safety partners and have a great relationship with the Syracuse Police and Fire Departments, the City of Syracuse, Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police and the local FBI. We work in partnership with them, but we want to make sure that our students are safe on and off campus.
06What does creating a university that is inclusive and welcoming to all mean to you as the chief of campus safety?
I’ve stressed this to my staff and leadership team that it’s important that we do our part to make sure we create and maintain an environment that is safe and everyone has a positive experience, feels valued and that they belong at Syracuse University.
Therefore, as an organization, we must promote a culture of respecting and valuing diversity equity, inclusion and accessibility. It’s important for us to be good listeners and display empathy in our interactions with the community. From what I’ve observed so far, I’m very pleased with our personnel interacting with the campus community. They’re very experienced and they slow things down, they explain things. I’m very happy to see that we are doing a good service to the campus community.
07Are there any misperceptions or anything you would like to tell students—whether they're incoming or returning—about DPS that they might not be aware of?
I’ve heard from my team that I guess some students feel we’re just here to break up parties. That’s not true. Most of the time, we’re getting calls from neighbors about loud music complaints, and so that’ll prompt a response. We want you to have a good time but do it responsibly and be respectful of your neighbors.
Another misconception is what is considered campus and/or Syracuse University property. We have a large footprint, but we go in and out of the City of Syracuse, so I think that might be a little confusing for some of the students. Once they’ve been around here a few years, I think they become more knowledgeable of the jurisdictional issues, but that’s why we have a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city and we work with them to navigate that process.
08What do you hope to accomplish during your tenure as chief here on campus at Syracuse University? How do you think you can innovate, improve, do things to make campus a better place?
In my first campus email, I wanted to keep it simple, so I laid out three goals for the direction of our organization. Number one, keeping the campus community safe, number two, increasing our community engagement with our students and three, we want to maintain accreditation and seek advanced accreditation.
We conducted a SWOT analysis of our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Now, we’re in the process of developing a five-year strategic plan, and we’re going to be assisted in that process by Jerry Edmonds, assistant provost for academic affairs, and he’s enlisted assistance from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment that is going to help us and guide us through that process.
I want to continue to maintain a safe campus. I want to accelerate our team development. For example, I want to prepare people for future leadership responsibilities. I want to provide personnel opportunities for growth and development when we talk about community engagement with our students, so I’m looking to expand our formal and informal interactions with our students through education and crime prevention efforts.
Hosting a Community Police Academy each fall and spring is one goal, and I also want to expand our outreach and provide a weeklong summer youth leadership camp for rising ninth graders in the City of Syracuse. I think it’s important to build relationships with the community at large, let those rising ninth graders know what opportunities are available here at the University, prepare them for life skills, prepare them for the ninth grade, and our personnel can serve as mentors and chaperones during that weeklong program. I’m also interested in increasing our outreach and interaction with minority groups and developing a comprehensive educational program. We don’t want to be stagnant. We want to constantly assess and evaluate what we do.
We want to get recertified as a StormReady university by the National Weather Service this year. Next year, we’ll obtain ICALEA reaccreditation and then obtain advanced accreditation through CALEA in 2024.
09What are three tips or strategies for students to stay safe on campus?
We believe that crime prevention and education are the key to preventing and deterring crime. Number one would be securing your belongings. Lock your doors and windows when you’re leaving your residence. Don’t make it easy for somebody to break into your apartment or your residence hall.
If you have a bike on campus, don’t use cheap locks like cable locks or chain locks because they can easily be cut and defeated. Instead, use U-Bolt locks, which are harder to defeat. When studying on campus, don’t walk away and leave your cell phone, laptop and personal items unattended, even if it’s just for a minute. Take care of your belongings.
Number two, when students go out, go out in groups and make sure everyone comes back together. Leave no one behind. That’s very important. We want the students to have a good time and enjoy themselves, but don’t meet somebody on social media, have a date with somebody and you don’t know this person, or you get separated at nightclub, or a party. No, go back with the group you came with. Everybody comes back together. I think that’s very important.
Then number three, help DPS keep Syracuse University safe. Participate in your community, report anything suspicious. Our phone number is 315.443.2224.