By Peter Melahn, Staff Writer 

The new Xavier University Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety, Aaron Jones, recently started in his new role on campus after transitioning from the Cincinnati Police Department this spring. His hiring follows the departure of former Chief Robert Warfel this past year.

After an intensive selection process involving a set of public forums earlier this semester, Chief Jones was selected from a group of three finalists to be the new chief of police at Xavier. He sat down with Newswire this past week to answer a few questions.

Q: Can you tell us about your background? Why did you first get interested in law enforcement?

A: I’m a second generation police officer. My father was a police officer for the City of Cincinnati, so I just remember him coming home in uniform. At 10, 11-years-old, (I said) ‘that’s what I want to do.’ I was born and raised in Oakley, just a few miles from here. I am a lifelong Cincinnati resident. I went to Hyde Park Elementary and ultimately graduated from Purcell Marian just down the street.

Xavier has always been the school that I knew I wanted to go to, so that’s where I did my undergrad back in the late 90s. And then (I) went right into the Cincinnati Police Academy just a few months after graduating.

Q: Why did you feel drawn to be Chief of Police at Xavier?

A: I came back here for my master’s, and then I’ve been an adjunct here since 2018 in the criminal justice program. I’ve always stayed close with Xavier throughout my career. I just knew that when the time was right for me and my career that I wanted to come back here and serve in this role. I like the school… I like the message and how it’s a family-type environment in the way that students are looked out for and cared for.

Q: What steps do you believe are essential in building trust in our specific community at Xavier? What are some general challenges police forces face today?

A: Being accessible, being open, being responsive and communicating with both the students and faculty. That’s what I want to start with: transparency and openness. If we make any changes in policies or procedures I’m going to solicit feedback, first from the students, then from the faculty.

After all the different things that have happened across the country with law enforcement over the past three or four years, law enforcement got a black eye. No matter what uniform you’re wearing, whether there is something that happens in Philadelphia, in Boston, in Cincinnati, everyone sees it. And so, the challenge is to rebuild those reputations so folks have trust in us and have confidence in us.

Q: What is the most important thing about you that students might not know that they should know?

A: I’m a huge Superman fan. It’s becoming harder and harder for people to get me Christmas gifts because there are only so many things (out there) that have Superman on them.

Q: What are you most excited about going forward?

A: My last couple weeks (I) have been meeting with the executive cabinet and administration… my calendar has been pretty busy. What I am really looking forward to is interacting with students and being visible. We’ve got some events planned… we’re going to have a kind of ‘meet the chief’ event here in April. That’s what I am really looking forward to is just being able to interact (with students).