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Carl Loney |
"First and foremost, I wish to express my sincerest gratitude to everyone who made this possible," Loney said. "I am deeply honored to receive this award and believe it is based on a simple formula: respect everyone, be fair and equal in the application of one's duties, and never lose sight of the fact that as a police officer you are a public servant. As officers we are here to serve our community and in order to accomplish that, one must take ownership in the community."
Loney, who joined the Wittenberg community in 2002 after retiring from his post as the Clark County Sheriff's Department's captain and operations commander, adheres to a high-visibility, pro-active policing philosophy, which includes an uncompromising commitment to treat everyone with kindness, respect and dignity. His philosophy has played a critical role in office operations and has made Wittenberg's full-service department highly respected within the campus community and within law enforcement throughout the Tri-County region.
"Carl puts students first and cares deeply about Wittenberg," said Tim Lewis, professor of biology. "He has gone to great lengths to make sure students come to know the officers and see them in a positive light, and I know from my many student contacts how successful that has been."
"Chief Loney is a wonderful asset to our campus," added Ben McCombs, class of 2009 from Columbus, Ohio, and the student representative to the Security Advisory Committee. "It has been an honor to work with him throughout my time as off-campus senator. The department is lucky to have such a great leader."
In his seven years at Wittenberg, Loney has made it a priority to engage police and security in the community, including initiating a ride-along program where students can join officers, learn more about them and see firsthand their commitment to serving students and the university as a whole. Loney has also assigned an officer to the residence halls.
At the same time, Loney is committed to using all the technology available to ensure student safety, including having the department join the Ohio Local Law Enforcement Information Sharing Network. Thanks to his efforts, Wittenberg police and security officers, as participating members of the network, now share and have access to data from other participating agencies throughout Ohio. The network provides a valuable resource for the department in preventing potential activity in the university district and beyond it.
Loney has also enhanced department operations and community relations during his tenure. In his first year, Loney successfully developed the department into its own police agency under the authority of the State of Ohio, Section 1713.50 of the Ohio Revised Code. In order to secure services from and continue the efficient working relationship with the Springfield City Police Division ("SPD"), the university also entered into a mutual aid agreement with the City of Springfield, which, because of Loney's long-standing relationships with all the agencies in the area, grants Wittenberg police the authority to patrol the city streets within an expanded geographic boundary that extends beyond the University District. This arrangement gives the department the ability to patrol and establish a presence in areas that border campus.
In addition, following the Virginia Tech tragedy, Loney hosted an active shooter training program at Wittenberg for nearly 60 members of local law enforcement agencies and Springfield Fire and Rescue Division. The daylong seminar, with trainers from the North American SWAT Training Association, included classroom instruction and practice scenarios, with one practice session taking place in Wittenberg's own residence hall, Myers Hall. The training served as yet another example of Loney's ongoing collaboration with the local emergency response agencies. By bringing officers from other departments to Wittenberg's campus, the officers not only learned about Wittenberg officers, but also learned about the campus and its buildings. In the event of a crisis, such knowledge will immediately help Wittenberg deploy available resources.
"Carl's experience, knowledge and broad-based law enforcement contacts make him an excellent chief," said Maureen Massaro, associate vice president of human resources and special assistant to the president. "This skill set coupled with a caring heart and commitment to serving others makes him a leader in campus policing and a tremendous asset to Wittenberg."
Campus Safety is a trade publication exclusively serving campus police chiefs, security directors, IT personnel and executive administrators involved in the public safety and security of major U.S. hospitals, schools and universities. Additional information on the Campus Safety Director of the Year program as well as a more on Loney's accomplishments and those of other finalists can be found at www.campussafetymagazine.com/directoroftheyear.
Written By: Karen Gerboth
075-09
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