Jason D. Schiffer has been named as the chief of the Lehigh University Police Department. Schiffer will replace Ed Shupp, who is retiring. (Courtesy of Lehigh University website)
Jason D. Schiffer was selected as the new chief of the Lehigh University Police Department, following a national search to replace Edward Shupp, according to a statement from University Communications. He will begin his new role on Jan. 2, 2018.
Schiffer is a former chief of the Bethlehem Police Department, where he supervised operations of 150 police officers and 80 civilian employees. He also previously served as sergeant, lieutenant and deputy chief of police, and spent a large portion of his time as a community police bike officer in South Bethlehem.
Since 2013, he has been a trial attorney with the Bethlehem-based firm Cohen, Feeley, Altemose & Rambo and served as pro bono legal counsel for the Friends of Bethlehem Mounted Police and the Coalition for Appropriate Transportation.
Schiffer is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey. He is a member of the state, Northampton and Lehigh County bar associations and is also a certified instructor with the International Police Mountain Bike Association and the League of American Bicyclists.
He earned his bachelor of arts in criminal justice from DeSales University and his law degree from the Temple University Beasley School of Law. His wife is a Lehigh alumna.
“It is an honor to serve in this position, and I realize that there are big shoes to fill,” Schiffer said in the statement. “I am looking forward to a smooth transition and listening to input from the many voices which make Lehigh so great.”
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Let’s hope Chief Schiffer takes a more sensible approach to underage drinking enforcement than his predecessor did, although I am highly skeptical because of his perspective as a trial lawyer. The “zero-tolerance, cite as many students as possible” policy clearly does not work – NEVER DID – and causes more problems than it solves, including more subversive drinking behavior; use of harder alcohol and drugs; overloading the local magistrate and Lehigh conduct offices; costing parents (and students) unnecessary distraction, grief and legal fees; potentially ruining career opportunities because of legal records; fermenting distrust between students, law enforcement, and the administration; creating negative press coverage and public relations problems for Lehigh; and overall lowering of student morale.
Unless it can be proven that the more recent heavy-handed enforcement has actually caused a significant and meaningful decrease in alcohol-related hospitalizations and high-risk behavior – its stated intended purpose – it should be discontinued immediately, as the negatives far outweigh the positives (and what were they again exactly?).