In January of 2019, California State University, East Bay gained a new Chief of Police for the University Police Department. In the seven-plus months that he has been here, Chief Mark Flores has made an impact on the Department by relaying a message and serving a community that deserves nothing but safety.
Chief of Police Flores joined the Pioneer family with a goal of wanting to bring strong, important changes to the campus. He wants to create “a heightened level of awareness and safety, and maintaining a good sense of communication.”
Prior to receiving the position of Chief of Police for the University Police Department, Chief Flores had a background in law enforcement; He started at the Alameda County Sheriff’s office in a non-sworn position and worked his way to currently being Chief of Police.
In between, Flores joined the Police Academy in 1995 and later graduated in the Spring of 1996. Once graduated, Flores had made his way back to the Alameda Sheriff’s Department, working there for 26 years and retiring as a Captain.
One of Chief Flores’ goals, among many, is to improve the perception of police in the eyes of the public. Chief Flores makes it very clear that even saying “Hello” is a step in the right direction toward building a good relationship with the CSUEB student body.
“What I want to do is help remove that perception that we are bad people, that we have bad practices in law enforcement. I need to try and build trust with the campus community, that we are not that type of department. We are here in the interest of promoting public safety,” Flores said.
With his straight-forward answers and career experience, Chief Flores has good plans for the 2019-20 school year.