Roberts bids ASU Police farewell

Cmdr. Mark Roberts has announced his retirement from the ASU Police Department after a 28-year career in law enforcement, effective Feb. 8.

Roberts began his career in law enforcement in July 1979, working as a security officer for the ASU Department of Public Safety. He became a police officer in July 1980 and worked on ASU’s Tempe campus until 1991. During this time, he served in a variety of positions, including field training officer (FTO), a member of the Emergency Assistance Group (SWAT), an equestrian patrol officer, a detective and FTO coordinator.

In 1991, Roberts was promoted to sergeant and transferred to the West campus, where he served as the training coordinator and special events coordinator. In July 1996, as ASU was establishing a presence at the then-named Williams campus, he took the position of director of public safety at ASU East (now known as the Polytechnic campus), a position he held until July 2003.

In July 2003, his role was changed. He became a commander and was part of the transition team that consolidated three separate and distinct campus police agencies into a single agency headquartered at the Tempe campus. The change was part of ASU President Michael Crow’s mandate to streamline critical operations on each campus.

As commander, Roberts worked as the administrative services commander on the Tempe campus, overseeing the activities of detectives, property and evidence, crime prevention, special events, records and communications. He also was assigned as the patrol commander at the West and Polytechnic campuses.

He is a member of several professional organizations, including the International Association of Law Enforcement Planners, the Center for Law Enforcement Ethics, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation/Law Enforcement Executive Development Association.

While Roberts is retiring from ASU, he is not leaving the field of law enforcement entirely. He has taken a position with another state agency located at the Arizona Capitol.

A new commander will be named shortly for the Polytechnic campus.