Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Michigan State University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D. has selected Marlon Lynch to serve as the sixth chief of the MSU Police Department. Based on his vast experience and expertise, Lynch will also hold the title of vice president of public safety.
Show Notes
“It's an awesome feeling,” says Lynch. “I arrived at MSU in the late 80s. I was a criminal justice major. I'm a product of the School of Criminal Justice. Actually, I started as a police officer at Meridian Township Police Department. That evolved through the police cadet internship program. I had the privilege of working at Meridian Township Police Department as a cadet first to get an idea of what it's like to be a police officer then actually began my career as a police officer prior to completing my undergraduate degree.
“The connectivity is coming full circle. I've been in policing now for 28 total years, 25 years in campus policing within higher education. Universities are anchor institutions in their communities. They connect to the city they reside in and have a positive impact on the community. The School of Criminal Justice provided that educational background, and I stay in contact as an alumnus. I'm on campus three to four times a year. To come back full circle as chief is a great feeling.”
Lynch currently serves as chief safety officer for the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. In this position he oversees more than 180 individuals in police, health system security, emergency management and community services. He jumped at the opportunity to guide his alma mater’s police department.
“This is the first time in 40 or 50 plus years that the MSU has actually opened up the position to external candidates. This is not something you look at and say, ‘Oh, well, it'll come back open at some other point.’
“I’ve always had the goal to have a role in police leadership and had identified this particular job as one that I would keep my eye on. If an opportunity presented itself, I most definitely would pursue it. The circumstances are ripe as well. I'm originally from Chicago and it's just a short drive. My family is still in the area. I actually spent a lot of time on the MSU campus growing up as a kid. I have three uncles who live in Lansing, and I have a bunch of cousins in the area. Every summer I'd come up to Lansing and spend a couple of weeks in the area and we'd come over to campus. I've been familiar with MSU for a long time.”
As vice president for public safety and chief of police, Lynch will lead the university’s 120-member police department including community engagement, cybersecurity, emergency management, parking enforcement and traffic engineering. His emphasis will be on community policing and enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
“Being part of the community is extremely important in campus policing. My philosophy is based on that: How do we engage our community, our students, our faculty, and our staff? One way to do that is to create opportunities where the community helps define the role of the police services they want, what services they receive, and how they receive them. This is a part of what we're seeing today in the national narrative on police reform.
“All of those can be applicable to college and university campuses, but it's extremely important not to take a cookie cutter approach. What I would like to do with our community is identify what's appropriate for our community and integrate those services into our department through collaboration. Create opportunities for engagement, seek input, and the accountability will come with it.
“Policing has to evolve. Our laws and ordinances are based on what society wants. That's how they're created; what are the social norms? Things have changed and it's time for some laws to change with them. Again, engage the community and find out what they expect to define the role of police.
“And there are opportunities to police in a different way. Police are always on 24/7, 365. And over the years, responsibilities have evolved to include services that were eliminated elsewhere, like some social work. ‘We’ll train the police to a certain limit to provide those services.’ We've outgrown that. The police can do a lot and they can be trained to do many things, but some of the things that we're encountering now in policing, there are experts for this. There's a reason why there are social workers. There's a reason why there are mental health professionals. There's an opportunity for joint response and to have those services be collaborative. Those opportunities are there, and I'm definitely open to working with our community to identify them.”
Do you have some short and long-term goals for the department?
“Short-term, I think it's important to get to know the staff within the department. This will be a new transition for the department, integrating a police chief who is not from within the department. Also, the listening tour with our community is going to be extremely important. I’ll spend a lot of time meeting with our stakeholders on campus and off. Our relationships with East Lansing and Ingham County are important.
“Long-term goals are to focus on the accreditation process. There will be a mix of short and long-term goals in regard to defining the role of police and the direction of our community policing strategies. But it'll all begin with direct feedback from our communities. There are some core foundational components that will need to exist, and how we fill out that framework will come from our community.”
Challenges and opportunities ahead?
“The challenge is what is the immediate need, right? It's identifying that immediate need and being effective and efficient in how we provide solutions. That's a challenge, but I also think there are opportunities.
“It's an experienced team within the Michigan State Police Department; that's an advantage. That's not always the case within university police departments. There's an experienced team here.
“We're going to have to work on our overall representation of the department. Diversity means a lot of things to a lot of people and we need to be representative of our community. The MSU community is extremely diverse, not just in race, but in gender and lifestyle, too. It's important that our police department reflect that. Those are opportunities to me.
“There will be some change that will take place, but our community will be part of that and be directly involved in how that takes place. I'll always be available. I will be on campus and I'll be actively around all the time, reacquainting myself with the institution and the university grounds. I look forward to being an active part of the MSU community and to being engaged and around all the time, not just when things may not be going well.”
MSU Today airs Sunday mornings at 9:00 on 105.1 FM, AM 870, and however you stream your shows. Find “MSU Today with Russ White” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.
“The connectivity is coming full circle. I've been in policing now for 28 total years, 25 years in campus policing within higher education. Universities are anchor institutions in their communities. They connect to the city they reside in and have a positive impact on the community. The School of Criminal Justice provided that educational background, and I stay in contact as an alumnus. I'm on campus three to four times a year. To come back full circle as chief is a great feeling.”
Lynch currently serves as chief safety officer for the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. In this position he oversees more than 180 individuals in police, health system security, emergency management and community services. He jumped at the opportunity to guide his alma mater’s police department.
“This is the first time in 40 or 50 plus years that the MSU has actually opened up the position to external candidates. This is not something you look at and say, ‘Oh, well, it'll come back open at some other point.’
“I’ve always had the goal to have a role in police leadership and had identified this particular job as one that I would keep my eye on. If an opportunity presented itself, I most definitely would pursue it. The circumstances are ripe as well. I'm originally from Chicago and it's just a short drive. My family is still in the area. I actually spent a lot of time on the MSU campus growing up as a kid. I have three uncles who live in Lansing, and I have a bunch of cousins in the area. Every summer I'd come up to Lansing and spend a couple of weeks in the area and we'd come over to campus. I've been familiar with MSU for a long time.”
As vice president for public safety and chief of police, Lynch will lead the university’s 120-member police department including community engagement, cybersecurity, emergency management, parking enforcement and traffic engineering. His emphasis will be on community policing and enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
“Being part of the community is extremely important in campus policing. My philosophy is based on that: How do we engage our community, our students, our faculty, and our staff? One way to do that is to create opportunities where the community helps define the role of the police services they want, what services they receive, and how they receive them. This is a part of what we're seeing today in the national narrative on police reform.
“All of those can be applicable to college and university campuses, but it's extremely important not to take a cookie cutter approach. What I would like to do with our community is identify what's appropriate for our community and integrate those services into our department through collaboration. Create opportunities for engagement, seek input, and the accountability will come with it.
“Policing has to evolve. Our laws and ordinances are based on what society wants. That's how they're created; what are the social norms? Things have changed and it's time for some laws to change with them. Again, engage the community and find out what they expect to define the role of police.
“And there are opportunities to police in a different way. Police are always on 24/7, 365. And over the years, responsibilities have evolved to include services that were eliminated elsewhere, like some social work. ‘We’ll train the police to a certain limit to provide those services.’ We've outgrown that. The police can do a lot and they can be trained to do many things, but some of the things that we're encountering now in policing, there are experts for this. There's a reason why there are social workers. There's a reason why there are mental health professionals. There's an opportunity for joint response and to have those services be collaborative. Those opportunities are there, and I'm definitely open to working with our community to identify them.”
Do you have some short and long-term goals for the department?
“Short-term, I think it's important to get to know the staff within the department. This will be a new transition for the department, integrating a police chief who is not from within the department. Also, the listening tour with our community is going to be extremely important. I’ll spend a lot of time meeting with our stakeholders on campus and off. Our relationships with East Lansing and Ingham County are important.
“Long-term goals are to focus on the accreditation process. There will be a mix of short and long-term goals in regard to defining the role of police and the direction of our community policing strategies. But it'll all begin with direct feedback from our communities. There are some core foundational components that will need to exist, and how we fill out that framework will come from our community.”
Challenges and opportunities ahead?
“The challenge is what is the immediate need, right? It's identifying that immediate need and being effective and efficient in how we provide solutions. That's a challenge, but I also think there are opportunities.
“It's an experienced team within the Michigan State Police Department; that's an advantage. That's not always the case within university police departments. There's an experienced team here.
“We're going to have to work on our overall representation of the department. Diversity means a lot of things to a lot of people and we need to be representative of our community. The MSU community is extremely diverse, not just in race, but in gender and lifestyle, too. It's important that our police department reflect that. Those are opportunities to me.
“There will be some change that will take place, but our community will be part of that and be directly involved in how that takes place. I'll always be available. I will be on campus and I'll be actively around all the time, reacquainting myself with the institution and the university grounds. I look forward to being an active part of the MSU community and to being engaged and around all the time, not just when things may not be going well.”
MSU Today airs Sunday mornings at 9:00 on 105.1 FM, AM 870, and however you stream your shows. Find “MSU Today with Russ White” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your shows.
Creators & Guests
What is MSU Today with Russ White?
MSU Today is a lively look at Michigan State University-related people, places, events and attitudes put into focus by Russ White. The show airs Saturdays at 5 P.M. and Sundays at 5 A.M. on 102.3 FM and AM 870 WKAR, and 8 P.M. on AM 760 WJR.
Russ White 0:00
Michigan State University President Samuel L. Stanley, Jr. md has selected Merlin Lynch to serve as the sixth chief of the MSU. Police Department. Based on his vast experience and expertise. Lynch will also hold the title of vice president of public safety. Merlin, congratulations, and I guess Welcome home.
Marlon Lynch 0:22
Thank you Russ, definitely appreciate it. That's goodness, there's so many feelings that go along with that right talk about coming full circle.
Russ White 0:31
I was thinking this has got to be kind of a circle of life thing for you. So tell us a little bit about your time at MSU kind of helped prepare you for where you are. Maybe some, some career highlights that now as we say, Have you circling back to be the chief of police for your alma mater must feel kind of cool.
Marlon Lynch 0:49
Yeah, it does. It's an awesome feeling. I arrived at MSU. And in the late 80s, we'll say I was a criminal justice major. So I'm a product of the School of Criminal Justice. And actually, I got my start, I started as a police officer at Meridian township police department. And that evolved through the police cadet internship program. The chief of police at the time near J. Cole was an adjunct professor in the School of Criminal Justice. And so I had the privilege of working at Meridian township police department as a cadet first to get an idea of what it's like to be a police officer. And actually began my career as a police officer prior to completing my undergraduate degree. And then after completing probationary year, and some other components went back as a full time police officer and part time student and completed the degree and a lot of Well, there's several of my classmates that actually want to mess up to to work. And so things like that. And so yeah, the connectivity coming full circle, I mean, I've been now that's 28, total years, 25 years within higher education with campus policing, at private and public institutions and urban areas to where the universities were anchor institutions in the community, and had that, you know, pretty much that connectivity to the city and, and having that very positive impact on the community and a destination. So this is definitely my preparation at for the school criminal justice provided that educational background, but then just working in the field and staying in contact as an alum as well, with the University. I'm on campus three to four times a year anyway, with that, so so that's great. Come back full circle, it's, this is great. It's a great feeling. So
Russ White 2:55
tell me more about you know, what attracted you to the position, you know, at this time to leave the MSU police?
Marlon Lynch 3:01
Yeah, well, as you know, this, this is the first time in point 4050 plus years that the MSU has actually opened it up to external candidates. So this is not something you look at and say all while it'll come back open at some other point. That's, it's not that type of job. So that and I recall early in my career as well, I knew that I did want a role in police leadership and had identified this particular job is one that I would keep my eye on. And if an opportunity presents itself, most definitely would, and the circumstances are ripe as well. But, you know, it's actually, I'm originally from Chicago, and it's just a short drive. My family is still in the area. I actually spent a lot of time on a Michigan campus growing up as a kid I have. I have three uncles that live in in Lansing. So I and I have a bunch of cousins in the area. And so every every summer, I come up to Lansing, and it's been it's been a couple of weeks in the area, and we've come over to campus. And so I've been familiar with him issue for a long time. So chief Lynch would what would you say? Is your
Russ White 4:18
like philosophy on policing? And are there some nuances to campus policing that make it unique from policing elsewhere?
Marlon Lynch 4:26
Yeah, being on a college campus is unique. I mean, your your primary community, his age was 17 to 24. So those demographics in itself are going to make it interesting. So there are some differences. And you know, and over the 25 years that I've been doing it, it's evolved. The responsibilities have changed. And, you know, being part of the community is extremely important in campus policing. And so my philosophy is based on that is how do we engage our community. Our students are faculty and staff. And one way to do that is to create opportunities to where they help define the role of the police services and what services they receive and how they receive them. Which is, you know, what we're seeing today in a national narrative in regards to police reform. And all of those can be applicable to college and university campuses. But it's extremely important not to take sort of a cookie cutter effect. And what I would like to do with our community is identify what's appropriate for our community, and integrate those types of services into our department. But in collaboration with so not making assumptions, creating those opportunities for engagement and direct input, and the accountability levels will come into play. And Marilyn,
Russ White 5:51
while we're on it, sort of what about just the national policing narrative? I mean, I know we could have a conference on this, but just sort of your sense of policing its, its, you know, its warts, its good parts, its challenges, its opportunities, where do you want to see policing get to?
Marlon Lynch 6:08
Yeah, policing, policing has to evolve? Right? You know, our our laws and ordinance are based on what, what society wants, that's how they're created is what are the social norms and things have changed, and it's time for them to change with it. And once again, engaging the community and finding out what do they expect and defining the role of police is important. But the other component is that is that there are opportunities to police in a different way. You know, it's police are always on 20 473 65. And over the years, it's evolved to if services were eliminated, it was well trained to police to a certain limit to provide those services. And we've outgrown that, that's, you know, the police can do a lot and they can be trained to do some things. But some of the things that we're encountering now, in policing, they're experts for this, there's a reason why there are social workers. There's a reason why there are mental health professionals and things of that nature, there's an opportunity for joint response to have those services collaborative, and working together, as opposed to just having one attempt to do something that there's actually trained professionals for, so that those types of opportunities are there. And I'm definitely open to working, working with our community to identify them,
Russ White 7:35
we're getting to know Marlin Lynch, a little bit on MSU. Today, he's our brand new chief of police at Michigan State University and Maryland. I know you're just getting started. But do you have some short term goals for the department and then maybe some longer term ones you're thinking about?
Marlon Lynch 7:51
Yeah, short term, I think it's important to get to know the staff within the department. As well, as again, you know, this is this will be a new transition for the department now, integrating a police chief that is not from within the department. And so getting started early on those relationships with that, also, the listening tour with our community is going to be extremely important. And I would start with the those that are on run a search committee, it was a pretty broad representation of the university, and just be off and running with that spend a lot of time meeting with our stakeholders on campus and off because the relationship in within East Lansing is strong as well, even within Eagle county itself. So with that long term goals, would be the accreditation process, or law enforcement accreditation with that. There will be a mix of short and long term goals in regards to defining the role of police and the direction of our community policing strategies with that, but it'll all begin with direct feedback from our communities with that there are some core foundational components that will need to exist, but how we fill out that framework will come from our community.
Russ White 9:12
What do you see is both some of the challenges and then the opportunities in in reaching these goals you're talking about?
Marlon Lynch 9:19
Well, the challenge is, is what is the immediate need? Right? And it's identifying that immediate need, and being effective and efficient and how we provide those solutions for the admitted immediate needs. That's a challenge. But I also think it's an opportunity. I think it's opportunities. The other component is that, you know, it's it's an experienced team within the MSU police department with that, and so that's an advantage. That's not always the case, within University Police departments, but there's an experienced team here. And the other component for that is, you know, we're going to have to work on our overall learning presentation of the department. And so, you know, diversity means a lot of things to a lot of people. But it's, you know, to be representative of a community, you know, the MSU community is extremely diverse, and not just in race, but gender as well, lifestyle, all of that. And I think it's extremely important that our police department reflect that. So, opportunities, that's what they are to me.
Russ White 10:29
Oh, Chief Lynch, it's
Marlon Lynch 10:30
been great to get to know you a little bit. And as we close, just summarize sort of what you'd like Spartans joining in on our conversation to know about you and in the department, as you get started about the the department is that there will be some change that will take place, but our community will be part of that directly involved in how that takes place with it. In regards to about me, I've always be available, and I will be on campus, and I'll be actively around all the time, reacquainting myself with with the institution and the university grounds itself, and that we look forward to being an active part of the MSU community being engaged to where we're around all the time, not just when things may not be in its best circumstance.
Russ White 11:21
Well, again, welcome home chief and it's been great having you on the program. Right. Thanks, Russ. That's Marlin Lynch, Michigan State University's new chief of police and vice president of public safety, and I'm Russ white, this is MSU today
Transcribed by https://otter.ai