The National Policing Institute Welcomes New Board Members

 

ARLINGTON, VA – March 18, 2025 — The National Policing Institute (NPI) adds four new members to its Board of Directors. The Honorable Alberto R. Gonzales, former Attorney General of the United States, Darrel Stephens of Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Rory Steyn, former law enforcement executive in the South African Police Service, and team leader of President Nelson Mandela’s protection team, and Dr. Jeremy M. Wilson of Michigan State University and founder of the Police Staffing Observatory, were confirmed and welcomed to the prestigious and seasoned board.

NPI’s Board of Directors currently includes an experienced bench of current and former law enforcement leaders, government officials, decorated policing scholars, community leaders, and business professionals. The new members will contribute to the board’s already impressive knowledge base on policing, crime, and justice.

“The National Policing Institute’s distinguished Board of Directors provides guidance and governance to NPI through its blended perspective of experience, expertise, and public service within and outside of policing. The leaders who have joined our board today will extend this perspective and help to lead NPI forward in service to one of America’s most noble callings – policing. We are grateful for their service and commitment to officers, agencies, and communities in the US and abroad,” NPI’s President Jim Burch stated.

The Honorable Alberto R. Gonzales previously served as the 80th Attorney General of the United States during the George W. Bush administration. Before joining NPI’s board of directors, his career encompassed practicing business law and serving in many prestigious roles in Texas, including as the General Counsel to the Governor of Texas, the Texas Secretary of State, and a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court. Notably, he is also an Air Force veteran and worked in the White House as counsel to the President from 2001-2005. Read more.

Darrel Stephens joins NPI’s board with more than 50 years of experience in law enforcement and leadership. He served and led agencies in Missouri, Kansas, Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina. Stephens also previously held the roles of executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), and advisor to the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. He is currently the co-director of the Policing, Security Technology, and Private Security Research and Policy Institute in the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University and the CEO of the Darrel Stephens Group, LLC. Stephens has also won numerous awards and was the inaugural honoree of NPI’s 2022 Patrick V. Murphy Award for Leading Change in Policing. Learn more.

With a National Diploma in Police Administration, Rory Steyn has an accomplished history in the South African Police, including serving in the Pretoria-based Presidential Protection Unit in 1996 as team leader of President Nelson Mandela’s personal protection team. Along with now serving on NPI’s board, Steyn owns his own consultancy, NSA Global Security Consultants. He is a global expert in cricket security and advises NSA clients on security for other significant sporting events, including the FIFA and Cricket World Cups and the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Rory founded his own charity in 2018 and is a board member of the Comrades Marathon, the world’s oldest and most prestigious ultra-marathon. Learn more.

Dr. Jeremy M. Wilson is a scholar, advisor, and successful professor at Michigan State University (MSU), where he founded and directed the Police Staffing Observatory, Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection and the Program on Police Consolidation and Shared Services. Throughout his career, he has held various appointments and honorary titles at institutions worldwide, served as an instructor for numerous programs, collaborated with police agencies and stakeholders internationally on many complex public safety problems, and led over $15M of projects sponsored by the US Department of Justice and others. Dr. Wilson joins NPI’s board with an extensive publication history, authoring publications on police staffing, organizational consolidation, resource allocation, performance assessment, data and measurement, and other topics. Read more.

NPI’s 2025 Board of Directors will offer the organization guidance that will shape its future and impact the noble profession of policing. The full list of members can be found at www.policinginstitute.org/board-of-directors.

 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL POLICING INSTITUTE

Established in 1970, the National Policing Institute (NPI), formerly the National Police Foundation, is a trusted, nonpartisan, independent research organization dedicated to helping law enforcement agencies solve complex challenges through practical and proven solutions. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, NPI is leading the way in translating research into actionable insights and offering hands-on support to agencies nationwide. For more information about NPI, visit policinginstitute.org.