When Jack Moorman became chief of University Police last July, the 25-year law enforcement veteran entered office with a seasoned force.
Since then, six senior officers have retired or found opportunities for career advancement at other institutions, leaving Moorman with a relatively young force. But instead of looking elsewhere to fill those vacant positions, Moorman promoted from within.
“When a number of your command-level people leave the organization, it’s imperative you ensure the same quality service and pick up the duties without missing a beat,” Moorman said. “That’s particularly a challenge as a new chief.”
Moorman became chief July 1, 2011. In doing so, he succeeded Tom Younce, who retired after serving as chief of the campus force for 10 years. Former Deputy Chief Jon Barnwell, who had been at N.C. State for 15 years, left for Tulane University at the end of 2011.
Moorman said the changes in command have not affected his mission.
“I think [the newly promoted officers] are all ready, and it’s their job now to be more well-known,” Moorman said. “We depend on our partnerships, relationships that have been built over the years and need to be quickly renewed with the new individuals in the replaced positions.”
Capt. Ian Kendrick now heads up the Patrol Division, overseeing all patrols and criminal investigations.
Moorman promoted four lieutenants in April and said he plans to promote an officer for the final opening next week. Moorman said these lieutenants will fill all supervisor positions.
Beyond personnel, another significant change came after the University restructured command of N.C. State’s emergency call center. Formerly headed by Moorman when he the department’s support services commander, it is now the responsibility of civilian staffer Tim Johnson, manager of Professional Standards.
Despite administrative and command changes, Moorman said “new” doesn’t mean “inexperienced” at either department.
“I have all the faith in the world that we’ll do just fine, and our mission-which I think is critical to our success-has not changed,” Moorman said.
That mission includes emphasizing crime prevention over enforcement and building bridges to the various subcultures on campus.
“We can’t be everywhere at once, so we have to garner trust among the different communities on campus,” Moorman said.
To build that trust, Moorman said his officers serve as liaisons with the segments of the University on their beats. Moorman used the Greek village and the GLBT community as examples of campus groups with specific needs.
Moorman said building these types of relationships has been his primary focus in his first year on the job, and he said he plans to further strengthen those relationships through safety education in the future. As a doctoral student of education at the University, Moorman said he wants to focus less on punitive enforcement and more on crime prevention.
“Prevention and education is critical to us, so we can identify and prevent incidents before they occur,” Moorman said. “Preventing crime is our mission. We’re a campus of students, and we want to play a role in the education process, especially outside of the classroom.”
Moorman served the Raleigh Police Department for 20 years, and after a year as chief of the University Police, he said he has no plans to go anywhere else.
“I love N.C. State and being part of this community,” Moorman said. “I just hope to keep things progressing.”
