Theodore Darden
Theodore Darden is an 13-year veteran of policing in the state of Wisconsin and has completed his PhD course work in Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Missouri- St. Louis (Education). In 1996, he was recognized as Wisconsin's Law Enforcement Officer Of The Year by the office of the Wisconsin Attorney General. Darden has also worked with the Wisconsin Department of Justice. While working with the Justice Department, he helped promote and develop community policing throughout Wisconsin. Darden played an integral part in the Attorney General's Safe Schools initiative.
Currently, Darden is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at the College of DuPage and teaches as an Adjunct Professor for Governors State University. Additionally, he has served as an instructor for technical and community colleges in Wisconsin; was a member of the Board of Directors for the Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute in St. Paul, Minn.; was the first president and founding member of the Wisconsin Association Of Community Oriented Police (WACOP); and his consulting business, Darden Consultants, serves law enforcements and communities nation wide.
Darden has a fiery style of presenting and teaching which will motivate individuals.
He has trained officers in large departments, as well as small ones; from sheriff's agencies to university police officers.
Darden Consultant's generates presentations and classes which are customized for individual agencies, using local examples to help connect topics to specific communities. Presentations include, but are not limited to:
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Community Oriented Policing
- Career Survival & Integrity
- Problem Solving
- School Assessment
- Safe Schools/Police School Liaison
- Diversity
- Terrorism
Areas of Interest
- Race and the Criminal Justice System
- Homeland Security
- Police
- Crime Prevention
Current Projects
- Increasing online Criminal Justice course offerings at the College of DuPage
- Developing Homeland Security Courses and Curriculum
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Awards, Recognition & Certificates
- Who’s Who in America’s Junior Colleges (1991)
- Wisconsin Law Enforcement Officer of the Year (1996)
- Two-time Excellent Service Award Recipient
- Five Accommodations Awards for Outstanding Service as a Police Sergeant
- Outstanding Alumni Award, Blackhawk Technical College (2002)
- Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Police Service Recipient (Wisconsin Professional Police Association)
Professional Affiliations
Publications
Presentations
- Omaha, NE PD (2000)
- Ohio Police Chiefs Conference on Safe Schools (2000)
- Red Oak, IA PD (1999)
- Sauk County, WI, Police In-Service Training Consortium (1999)
- Chippewa Valley Technical College (2001)
- Menasha, WIPD (1999)
- Sacramento, CAPD (2000)
- Wisconsin Governor’s Conference on Highway Safety (1999)
- Reno, NVPD (1999)
- US Justice Department COPPS Office (2002)
- Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute (2004)
- WI Attorney General’s Safe Schools Initiative (1999)
- Council Bluffs, IAPD (1999)
- Verona, WI School District (2001)
- Duluth, MNPD (1999)
- Platteville, WIPD (1999)
- The Center for Reducing Rural Violence, MN (2000)
- Merrill, WIPD (1998)
- Community Policing Conference, Newark, NJ (1998)
- Monona Grove, WI School District (2001)
- Wisconsin Association of School Boards Conference (2000)
- School Safety Conference, Washington D.C. (2001)
- Racine, WIPD (1999)
- Wisconsin Police Corp (2005)
- Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) - Chicago (2007)
What People Say About Theodore Darden...
- What A College Of DuPage Student, Completing Soc 2215, Said About Theodore Darden...
"I enjoyed your class immensely along with the passion with which you discussed this sensitive topic. I hope to see you in the news someday as someone making strides in an issue that I think needs major work. I certainly learned patience and restraint in your class and also how to realize that not everyone sees this information as common knowledge as I do. Please continue to make a difference!
"
- What Chris Braiden Said About Theodore Darden...
"Keep the fight alive to promote good and decent policing in the world!"
- What Herman Goldstein Said About Theodore Darden...
"I'm happy to know that there [were] young officers like you in policing today."
- What A Veteran Officer From Omaha Said About Theodore Darden...
"Where were you 22 years ago when I started my career? You've given me hope for the future!"
- What A Wisconsin Department Of Justice Representative Said About Theodore Darden...
"Theodore Darden is one of the leading young minds and visionaries in policing today!"
- What A Wisconsin PTA Member, After Hearing A Presentation On Safe Schools, Said About Theodore Darden...
"If every community in America heard your presentation on maintaining safe schools I know our schools would be safer."
Darden Consultant's Training & Curriculum
Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty, and dies with chaos.
-Will Durant
This course teaches officers what community policing is all about.
It's designed to motivate officers and enhance their knowledge of the philosophy of community policing.
Community policing has been bounced around like a soccer ball.
It has become the buzzword for all law enforcement agencies around the country.
How many agencies actually know how to effectively promote and move themselves toward this philosophy?
How many trainers have the material to effectively teach such a critical topic?
Community policing training can make or break the spirit of your agency.
If it is done properly, most officers will be willing to go back to the style of policing that was most effective in dealing with crime and disorder.
Officers realize that proactive policing is by far more effective in dealing with crime than reactive.
They will soon discover that community policing is less work and more rewarding!
In addition, many veteran officers see community policing as a passing fad because they have been given the wrong impression of the true community policing philosophy.
If given the proper instructions veteran officers will be your biggest supporter in promoting this proactive style of policing!
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An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.
-Orlando A. Battista
This course is designed to inform officers of the consequences of unethical behavior, the responsibility of the police and the public trust we carry. This course also teaches leadership skills and how they relate to ethical behavior. Ethics is an important training topic your department shouldn't miss.
Ethics is the single most important topic your agency should be trained in. This is an area of training which law enforcement has neglected for years. Law enforcement focuses its attention on competence when training and too often forgets that character is just as important. Agencies across the country are spending millions of dollars in legal fees and rewards to citizens who have been treated unfairly by officers. These are the same officers who have all but neglected the oath that many have died for.
This course will be one of the most powerful and interesting courses your agency has ever participated in. It deals with the real ethical issues facing law enforcement agencies today; from racial profiling to the simple, but often forgotten, courtesy of treating people right.
You won't hear, "Taking a free cup of coffee is wrong."
You will hear, "Often due to the impact of poor ethical decisions, officers of the law are going to jail daily and sometimes to the extreme of taking their own lives."
Can your agency afford not to take this class?
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No one really becomes a fool until they stop asking questions.
-Charles P. Steinmetz
This course is designed to teach officers how to properly identify problems and how to work with the community to solve them. The course offer suggestions on how to develop and utilize community resources as well as how to organize and conduct community meetings.
Police agencies have tried almost everything possible to reduce crime in their cities, towns and counties. Officers have become cynical in dealing with the same people and same locations day after day. When this happens, morale is lowered and officers can find themselves in vulnerable positions. Training in the areas of partnerships and problem solving helps officers deal with these types of calls.
Officers will leave this training with knowledge of how to effectively deal with calls that seem to be an ongoing problem. This training will actually provide hands on instruction in the area of problem solving using examples from your local area. The course is designed for both urban and rural law enforcement agencies.
If your agency is really dedicated to making a difference and addressing problems, this class is for you!
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Those who are good for making excuses are seldom good for anything else.
-Benjamin Franklin
With every passing day that your school has not been properly assessed for the potential for violence, you are letting your community and your children down. This service will provide you and your school with information about the areas in which you could improve your school's safety. Assessment includes building and grounds as well as your current or future liaison officer program. Get your school assessed today!
This service is federally recognized and certified.
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Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education.
-John F. Kennedy
This course is designed to show the school community and the police how to form partnerships that effectively prevent violence. The course will provide school officials and the police with the information about effective prevention programs as well as other techniques that will help reduce the possibility of violence in schools.
Darden Consultants' Safe School Philosophy
It is far better to prepare and prevent rather than repair and repent!
-S. THOMAS
The problem of school violence is nothing new. The most serious act of school violence in grades K-12 was not committed in Columbine High School. It happened in the state of Michigan in 1929 when a bomb went off killing 29 students. The fact of the matter is that only one percent of all school-age children between the ages of five and 18 are killed on school grounds.
We should not panic or become fearful as a society over the recent violence in our schools. We must, however, do what is needed to protect our children and prevent their becoming victims of violence. Is the solution gun control, police officers in schools, or mandating school uniforms? These are some of the suggestions that have been tossed around over the past few years. All of them have validity, but by themselves they will not stop the potential of violence.
When schools hire police officers to work inside schools, the expectations is for the police to protect them. Realistically, what can one officer do to prevent violence? Maintaining a safe school environment takes the entire community; the police cannot do it alone. School districts must partner with the police and community to come up with solutions to prevent violence in schools. Too many communities have come up with reactionary measures to address violence. Police, in return, must do problem-solving in reacting to the violence. The police should get involved in helping in the area of prevention rather than reaction when addressing violence in schools.
We must also remember that busses, bus stops and walking paths are a part of our schools. These areas are often ignored. We cannot just focus our attention on the inside of the schools. What’s more, parents, students and school staff must be involved in the prevention process. If anyone is left out, the potential for failure is high. Prevention, partnership and problem-solving focuses on maintaining safe schools.
