Albert Sweeney will be returning to Northeastern not as a student studying for his master’s degree or a University College employee, but as captain of the uniformed patrol division for the Northeastern University Poli-ce Department (NUPD).
Sweeney will officially take office as captain Thursday, and said he is looking forward to working at Northeastern again.
“I’m excited about starting, it’s always sad to leave an organization you have been affiliated with for 34 years. It’s like going away to college … but at the same time, I know I am home,” he said.
For 34 years, Sweeney was a member of the Boston Police Department (BPD). Throughout his tenure, Sweeney worked his way through the ranks, starting out as a patrol officer in the area of Chinatown and Beacon Hill and eventually promoted to captain in 1992. In 1978, Sweeney became more familiar with the Northeastern campus when he was assigned to district four, which includes The Fenway and Northeastern areas, but that was not the first time Sweeney had been to Northeastern.
Between 1973 and 1975, Sweeney attended North-eastern earning his master’s degree, and graduated in 1975 with a degree in public administration. Sweeney also holds another master’s degree in criminal justice from Curry College.
Beginning in 1985, Sweeney began to teach two police management courses at University College and said he believes his familiarity with Northeastern, by working with and for the university, will make the transition smoother.
“This is a perfect transition for a 56-year-old guy to transition into,” Sweeney said. “You don’t get that opportunity too often. To have the opportunity to work with the university I love, in the city I love, with people I know and trust, I’m really anxious and excited.”
Sweeney, a Saugus resident, has known and worked with Associate Director of Public Safety James Ferrier, Director of Public Safety Joe Griffin and other university officials for almost 25 years. Ferrier said Sweeney is “imminently qualified” for the position and that he would be a “keen” member of the NUPD.
Sweeney took his first police exam during his junior year in college, and within three years became an officer. He said there has never been a day he has not enjoyed being a police officer. Now, as the NUPD captain, he said. He hopes to create a team of advisors to help address any problems for the upcoming semesters.
“The big message is this is a team effort,” Sweeney said. “The university has had a very tough year, one of the toughest on record, and it’s going to take all of us — students, faculty, the public safety division, the Boston Police Department and the community — to get us back on track to a safe learning environment. No one group can do it alone.”
As his first priority, Sweeney said he wants to make sure the rest of the class of 2004 is able to graduate and enjoy their next five weeks at Northeastern safely. Enab-ling students and police officers to have more of a relationship is also on Sweeney’s list.
“It’s [about] being visible around campus and saying ‘hello’ as you pass on both sides, the students saying hello to the officer and the officer saying hello to the student. It starts with the simplest of things,” Sweeney said.
Some student leaders said they are excited for the change within the NUPD, but said they feel some issues still need to be addressed.
“I’m really excited for the change, but I hope it brings back the community policing program,” said the Student Government Association’s Vice President for Student Services Nicole Martino. “The program is in use now, but it needs to be taken to the next level. Police officers in uniform can become intimidating, especially to students, so it is up to the officers to make the first contact and to make themselves overly accessible to students.”
