BURBANK PICKS DEPARTMENT VET AS POLICE CHIEF; HOEFEL WILL BE SWORN IN JAN. 3.Byline: Donna Huffaker Staff Writer Nearly 20 years to the day after he joined the department, Burbank police Capt. Thomas Hoefel will officially assume the reigns of police chief. City Manager Bud Ovrum announced Tuesday he appointed the 48-year-old veteran to become the law enforcement agency's top cop, filled for the last 10 years by David Newsham. Newsham retires Dec. 30. ``I'm excited and honored that the city manager and the citizens are putting their trust in me,'' Hoefel said. Ovrum chose Hoefel following a series of written exercises and interviews with city officials and law enforcement and city officials from surrounding cities. He said it was an extremely inclusive process that began in September. ``Tom is just about as qualified a person as any I have ever seen - and I've been doing this for 30 years,'' Ovrum said, adding Hoefel has worked toward becoming chief since he started with the department Jan. 1, 1980. Hoefel will be sworn in at a ceremony Jan. 3. Hoefel earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in public administration from California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an , where he began his career in law enforcement in 1978 as an investigator for CSUN's State University Police. He earned a master's degree master's degree n. An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree. Noun 1. in management from California Polytechnic State University This article is about the university in San Luis Obispo, California. For Cal Poly Pomona, see California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. California Polytechnic State University, commonly called Cal Poly , Pomona, and graduated cum laude cum lau·de adv. & adj. With honor. Used to express academic distinction: graduated cum laude; 25 cum laude graduates. from Whittier College The liberal arts university was founded in 1887 by members of the Religious Society of Friends, who named it after Friends (Quaker) poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Student athletes at Whittier College are known today as the Poets in his honor. School of Law, where he was ranked ninth out of a class of 102. He also attended the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va. Hoefel said he looks to focus on two categories for the future - community relations 1. The relationship between military and civilian communities. 2. Those public affairs programs that address issues of interest to the general public, business, academia, veterans, Service organizations, military-related associations, and other non-news media entities. and technology. Hoefel wants to find more ways to relate to the community and establish additional community policing programs. And he wants to ensure Burbank police are up to date on - and vigilant of - Internet crimes Internet crime is crime committed on the Internet, using the Internet and by means of the Internet. Computer crime is a general term that embraces such crimes as phishing, credit card frauds, bank robbery, illegal downloading, industrial espionage, child pornography, , computer fraud, counterfeiting and other technological crimes. Hoefel, a divorced dad, lives in Burbank and shares custody of his 11-year-old son, Keith. He is involved with community groups such as the Burbank Human Relations human relations npl → relaciones fpl humanas Council and the Burbank Coordinating Council. In his spare time, he strums a guitar in a rock band with nine other law enforcement officials. The band, ``Mutual Aid - Cops that Rock,'' raises money for police charities. Hoefel also sings background vocals, plays the keyboards and usually performs, alongside the other band members, in his police uniform. He doesn't wear the gun on stage, though. ``It gets in the way of the guitar,'' he joked. Newsham, who served the city for 27 years, described his successor as very committed to the community and a ``simply outstanding'' selection. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Thomas Hoefel Targets community efforts |
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