Fellows Biographies

Darrel W. Stephens

(2005) - Darrel Stephens joined the faculty of the Public Safety Leadership Program at Johns Hopkins University in the School of Education as an Instructor in June, 2008. He also established the Darrel Stephens Group, LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in strategic planning, executive development, problem-oriented policing and policy analysis for police agencies and local government in 2008.

He is an accomplished police executive with 40 years of experience. His career began as a police officer in Kansas City, Missouri in 1968.  In addition to his police experience he served for 2 years as the City Administrator in St. Petersburg, Florida — a community of 250,000 people — where he was responsible for a work force of approximately 3000 employees and a budget of $380 million.  He has 22 years experience in a police executive capacity including almost nine years from September, 1999 to June, 2008 as the Chief of Police of the 2100 member Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).

Perhaps best known for advancing innovative approaches to policing, Stephens has earned a national reputation as a leader in policing. He served as the President, Vice President and Legislative Committee Chair of the Major Cities Police Chiefs Association while Chief in Charlotte.  Throughout his career, he has taken on difficult and challenging opportunities, and championed strategic technology investments to enhance employee productivity.

He has written extensively about policing, consulted extensively and a frequent speaker advocating progressive policing approaches. He received the prestigious Police Executive Research Forum’s Leadership Award and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences O.W. Wilson Award. He was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2005 and frequently is called on to participate in study panels.  In 2006 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree from Central Missouri State University.

A hallmark of his leadership and management approach has been the effective use of technology.  In every organization that he has led he has introduced various forms of technology to enhance the productivity of employees. This includes automated record systems, patrol vehicle laptop computers, geographic information systems, mapping, email and telephone voice mail systems that put officers in closer touch with the community, investigative analysis systems and video technology.