Tempe ushers in a new era of law enforcement next month when it introduces its next police chief, a veteran of 26 years in the progression from beat cop to top cop.
While El Cerrito, Calif., where Sylvia Moir has spent the past five years as chief, is in many ways dissimilar to Tempe, it holds one important commonality: a major state university.
El Cerrito is within five miles of the University of California, Berkeley, whose name has a familiar ring for those who remember the student uprisings of the 1960s—well before Moir’s time.
Unlike Tempe, the city’s population is comparatively small (23,000 to Tempe’s 161,000) and much more ethnically diverse (27 percent Asian).
Nestled in the San Francisco Bay area, El Cerrito was founded by those who fled the devastation of the 1906 earthquake that battered San Francisco. In terms of population, the majority of El Cerrito residents are White, but there’s a strong Pac-Rim identity, according to the 2010 U.S. Census report.
The Cerritos Police Department’s official blotter lists crimes such as vandalism, robbery and DUI, with theft the most frequently reported offense. There were no reported murders or rapes in El Cerrito in 2013 and the city’s crime rate has dropped significantly since 2001 when it was in the high-crime range, according to City-Data.com.
In Tempe, violent crime rate declined in 2014. The number of violent crimes in the city fell from 831 in 2013 to 799 in 2014.
In announcing the appointment, Tempe City Manager Andrew Ching said Moir is the first externally appointed chief the city has had since 1968. In addition to her job in El Cerrito, served as a commander in Menlo Park, Calif., and held various roles in the Sacramento, Calif., Police Department.
Moir has a Master of Arts in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix and will be awarded a Master of Arts in Homeland Security and Defense from the Naval Postgraduate School in March.
“Chief Moir distinguished herself through an exhaustive interview process for her intellect, judgment, compassion, enthusiasm and ability to engage employees and community members,” said Ching.
Said Moir:
“I am excited and honored to join the Tempe team—to build upon the tradition of superb policing that Tempe is known for, promoting positive organizational change and strengthening our partnerships will be my immediate focus.”
Following the retirement of Police Chief Tom Ryff on Dec. 1, Tempe invited applications from internal and external candidates, and received a wide array of responses. Ching praised the expertise and poise of the other two finalists, Tempe’s Acting Police Chief John Rush and Christopher Vicino, assistant police chief in Riverside, Calif.
Tempe hosted public forums at the beginning of the search process to get input on residents’ priorities for public safety. In January, the city conducted two employee forums and one public session with the three finalists. An online survey and hardcopy evaluation forms also were used to gather input.
Moir is expected to start work in Tempe on March 21, following her certification as a peace officer in Arizona.
