Former Charlottesville Police Chief Timothy J. Longo is currently working to develop a master’s program in public safety administration in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. The program, which will be largely online-based, is expected to launch in spring of 2019, pending approval.
Longo, who retired in May 2016, said he was approached by SCPS Interim Dean Steve Laymon over a year ago with the idea of creating the program.
“There’s never been a more important time to develop the competencies and professional skills of law enforcement officers, particularly law enforcement administrators or policymakers,” Longo said.
Laymon said in an email to The Cavalier Daily it was clear to him police were facing new challenges in the 21st century, and he felt the University had a chance to help.
“U.Va., from its beginning, has been focused on the role education plays in meeting broad public needs,” Laymon said. “This is another example of that impulse.”
The curriculum will be largely based on a May 2015 report from former President Barack Obama’s task force on 21st-century policing. The report addressed topics ranging from constitutional policing to data collection and analytics centering around current and future policing methods.
“As we’re thinking about curriculum, we’re thinking about, ‘How does what we’re proposing as curriculum fit into one of these buckets?’” Longo said.
Longo is also using his own experiences and knowledge to help develop the curriculum, including 36 years of experience in policing and an understanding of the law. He is also considering what he would have liked to have known during his progression to a police chief.
He said he hopes the program will include some interdisciplinary classes and speakers, drawing on knowledge other institutions at the University offer.
“Policing has its origin in our Constitution so its work is largely guided by, not just best practices or evidenced-based practices, but by law,” Longo said. “What a better partner to have than one of the best law schools in the country right up the street?”
Longo noted how policing is a business and could potentially collaborate with the Darden School of Business. He is also considering collaborating the with the Curry School of Education since one of the pillars of 21st-century policing is training and education.
He will also speak with other professionals about what did and did not work in creating similar programs.
“I’ll be heading to Johns Hopkins next month to visit with a guy I’ve known for 25 years who was the architect in building a very similar program at Johns Hopkins 30 years ago,” Longo said.
After the curriculum is established, the program will have to go through several stages of approval by SCPS, the Faculty Senate, Office of the Provost, Board of Visitors and ultimately the State Board of Education.
“There are criteria we follow so that when we submit this to the State Board of Higher Education, there’s a format that we will follow that will describe not just our curriculum and the learning objectives associated with that curriculum, but also things such as the admissions criteria for the program,” Longo said.
While academia is a new field for Longo, he said he is enjoying the process of creating his own program.
“I’ve been a cop my entire career so I’m learning the intricacies of academics but also the ‘behind the scenes’ that students and even some faculty don’t get to see in the construction of something,” Longo said. “That’s what makes this kind of exciting for me. I’m actually sharing in the responsibility of building something that really doesn’t exist right now.”
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