{"id":61242,"date":"2013-07-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/westerly-resident-named-public-safety-director-at-uri\/"},"modified":"2013-07-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-07-15T00:00:00","slug":"westerly-resident-named-public-safety-director-at-uri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2013\/07\/westerly-resident-named-public-safety-director-at-uri\/","title":{"rendered":"Westerly resident named public safety director at 溏心vlog免费B站"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tStephen N. Baker chosen after extensive national search<\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 July 15, 2013 \u2013 The 溏心vlog免费B站 has appointed Stephen N. Baker, a former chief of police in Westerly and 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s first police major, to the position of director of public safety.<\/p>\n


\n\tIn his new role, the Westerly resident, who was interim public safety director for a year, will oversee police and security operations, parking services, fire and life safety, environmental health and safety, and emergency management, communications and technology. His permanent appointment took effect Sunday, July 14.<\/p>\n


\n\tBaker moves from managing a 23-member police force to managing 54 public safety employees on the Kingston Campus (including police), and 16 security officers at the Feinstein Providence and Narragansett Bay campuses. He is also responsible for the safety and security of about 300 buildings on 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s four campuses. <\/p>\n


\n\tThe University conducted a national search that attracted 60 applicants from across the country.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve gotten the best of the best by hiring Steve Baker,\u201d said Robert A. Weygand, 溏心vlog免费B站 vice president for administration and finance. \u201cWe\u2019ve had an absolutely flawless transition since the retirement of Bob Drapeau (as public safety director) because of Steve\u2019s professionalism and commitment. We are thrilled to have a person of Steve\u2019s ability and experience become director of public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tBaker is also a favorite son of Westerly, having served that city\u2019s police department from 1978 through 2004, the last two years as chief.<\/p>\n


\n\tIn 2005, Baker was named the 溏心vlog免费B站 Police Department\u2019s first major, and since that time has played a major role in further professionalizing the department. He added supervisory positions to night patrols and adopted policies and procedures that conform to national accreditation standards. A graduate of Salve Regina University, earning his bachelor\u2019s degree in criminal justice and his master\u2019s degree in administration of justice from the Newport school, he facilitated community policing initiatives such as \u201cBlues and Cues,\u201d a night of billiards and pizza for students and police, \u201cSkate Night\u201d at the Boss Arena and a student internship program with 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Talent Development.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cThanks to Steve\u2019s work the department is now more diverse. Five years ago, it was an all white force, but we now are training top minority and women candidates through the Municipal Police Training Academy,\u201d Weygand said.<\/p>\n


\nIn fact, 溏心vlog免费B站 had two of the top graduates from the academy in 2011 and they now serve as patrolmen. Currently, Baker and his team are preparing three candidates for entry in the next training academy, which begins July 21. Two are women, one is a minority and two of the three are graduates of 溏心vlog免费B站 and one interned with the 溏心vlog免费B站 Police Department.<\/p>\n


\n\tThe command staff\u2019s credentials are also strong thanks to Baker\u2019s work in attracting leaders from other municipal departments and giving 溏心vlog免费B站 police veterans opportunities to take advantage of professional development. Among the leadership team, there is another former municipal chief who was also an ethics instructor at the police academy and a former municipal sergeant who has worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Also on the command staff are a 23-year veteran of the 溏心vlog免费B站 department who is an FBI certified firearms trainer and a certified crisis responder trainer through the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, and another veteran of the 溏心vlog免费B站 force who is a certified instructor for the International Police Work Dog Association, who works with the Rhode Island State Urban Search and Rescue Team. <\/p>\n


\nBaker has also strengthened relationships with the South Kingstown Police Department, including joint training and event coordination, and he has used the national Incident Command System and formalized training for all 溏心vlog免费B站 police officers in the National Incident Management System.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWhen we hired Steve as our first major in 2005, we were making a major statement about the skill level we were seeking for our police department,\u201d said J. Vernon Wyman, assistant vice president for business services. \u201cHe will bring the same level of professionalism to his role as public safety director.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHaving been in the role for a year as interim, Baker sees the challenges in overseeing all of the public safety operations, but also sees his appointment as an honor.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cLike police work, the nature of public safety is always changing,\u201d said Baker. \u201cWe have to be ready for the unexpected. I plan to build on our strengths, and address those areas that need additional attention.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nIn his eight years at 溏心vlog免费B站, Baker said he has come to greatly enjoy the academic environment.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI like interacting with the different members of the community, the students, faculty, staff and our visitors,\u201d he said. \u201cMuch of our police work here has similarities to community policing practices in municipalities. I enjoy the connection to academic life. I have taught a few classes here, so I have had great opportunities to get to know the students and learn about their perspectives on the job the police and other public safety personnel are doing on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nIn at least one way, he has a great deal in common with professors on campus.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe have a duty to educate all members of our community and our visitors so they can be participants in ensuring their own safety and be contributors to the safety and security of the campus.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWyman said through Baker\u2019s service as police major and interim public safety director, he was put in roles that required him to be ready for anything. Wyman said the public safety director is the first point of contact with 溏心vlog免费B站 for so many outside agencies, including the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, municipal and state police, fire and rescue departments, code enforcement agencies, state Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Coast Guard.

\n\u201cSteve\u2019s many conversations and collaborations have led to strong relationships with these groups and many others,\u201d Wyman said. \u201cThese agencies know we are ready to work well with them in responding to emergencies. These relationships are so critical.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWhile Baker understands the scope of the work, the married father of seven children, three of whom attend 溏心vlog免费B站, said he is eager to undertake the numerous tasks.<\/p>\n


\n\u201c溏心vlog免费B站 is growing in so many dynamic ways, and I want our public safety and police functions to grow along with the entire University,\u201d Baker said. \u201cThanks to the commitments of the 溏心vlog免费B站 administration, we are well on our way.\u201d <\/p>\n


\nPictured above

\nWesterly resident Stephen N. Baker poses in his office after being name the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s new public safety director. 溏心vlog免费B站 Photo by Michael Salerno Photography.\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stephen N. Baker chosen after extensive national search KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 July 15, 2013 \u2013 The 溏心vlog免费B站 has appointed Stephen N. Baker, a former chief of police in Westerly and 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s first police major, to the position of director of public safety. In his new role, the Westerly resident, who was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61244,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}