Darrel Stephens began his policing career in Kansas City in 1968. Stephens ultimately became the Assistant Chief of the Lawrence (Kansas) police department and then served as the chief executive in many others, including Largo (Florida) Police Department, the Newport News (Virginia) Police Department, St. Petersburg (Florida) Police Department and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Stephen served as the Executive Director of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) from 1986 to 1992, the Executive Director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA), and as an Advisor to the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. As the Executive Director of the MCCA, Stephen co-founded MCCA’s Police Executive Leadership Institute (PELI) credited with nearly 200 graduates as of 2022. Stephen has previously and currently serves in faculty positions at the Johns Hopkins University and Florida State University.

That list alone demonstrates Stephen's impact on policing and his leadership. But like Patrick V. Murphy, Stephen's leadership extends far beyond the positions he has held. If you’ve followed Stephen's work or read about it, you know that he has challenged the status quo in many areas of policing, including agency consolidation, the use of civilians in law enforcement, policies, training, and research regarding the use of force, police leadership development, including overall training and education, and he has advocated strongly for the adoption and use of problem-oriented policing (POP). Stephen is aptly described by colleague Dr. Gary Cordner as “one of the leading figures in strategic, smarter policing.”

Darrel Stephen has (and continues) to demonstrate the courage to lead. Stephen was nominated by the Major Cities Chiefs Association’s Executive Director Laura Cooper.

The National Policing Institute is pleased to honor Darrel Stephens with the inaugural Patrick V. Murphy Award for Leading Change in Policing.