Drexel taps former top Philly police official as new vice president of public safety

As safety concerns mount around college campuses in the city, Drexel University announced Friday it had tapped a former top Philadelphia police official to serve as its new vice president of public safety and chief of police.

Melvin “Mel” Singleton Jr., 53, who most recently had been second-in-command to Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, will begin his new role Nov. 14, the university said. He had served in the Police Department for 28 years before retiring in January 2021 due to a health concern, according to published reports. He said Friday through a spokesperson that he is now in good health.

Singleton, who had risen to first deputy police commissioner in the department, will replace Eileen Behr, who retired June 30. The announcement, which follows a national search, comes as city college campuses are hearing more concerns from parents about the safety of their children, as violence surges.

» READ MORE: Temple names Delaware State Police captain and educator as VP of public safety

Singleton, a Southwest Philadelphia native and St. Joseph’s University graduate, said he was “honored and motivated” to begin his new job.

“I believe to truly serve our communities, we must have social justice, procedural justice, and transparency as our core values,” he said in a statement. “We must strive to build stronger community relationships by ensuring that the perspectives, concerns and needs of all members of society are valued, respected, and incorporated in every aspect of police service.”

In a message to the campus community on Oct. 18, Drexel president John A. Fry noted that the university had begun adding extra patrols in areas where evening classes are held and around recreational facilities that are open later in the evening, as well as expanding shuttle service and looking at a potential expansion of patrol boundaries north of campus, where more students live.

» READ MORE: She was one of Philly’s first female cops allowed on street patrol. Then she led Penn police for a quarter century.

“Many Drexel parents have reached out to me to express their apprehension about the state of public safety on and around Drexel’s campus and wanting to know what we are doing to keep their children and all our students and employees safe,” wrote Fry, who has a daughter attending Drexel. “These concerns are entirely justified, and I share them.”

Fry said while the campus and University City neighborhood are among the safest, he acknowledged that “‘reasonably safe’ is not an acceptable threshold when violent crime and robberies are surging in all parts of the city, and especially when the increasing frequency of reported incidents on or near campus has many of our students and colleagues feeling more fearful.”

Singleton started as an officer in Philadelphia in 1993 and served in various leadership positions over the years, including captain of the 19th District. Most recently, he oversaw the department’s patrol, detective, narcotics, homeland security, forensic science and intelligence bureaus.

“We are confident that Mel is the ideal public safety leader for Drexel,” Fry and Helen Y. Bowman, executive vice president, wrote in the campus announcement, citing his “track record of leveraging intelligence and data to develop effective public safety strategies; engaging community members with respect, inclusion and partnership; adhering to the highest professional standards; and demanding peak performance from his units.”