Tamara McCollough, the second of two final candidates for the open Chief of Police for IUPD, discussed her ideas for improving transparency and relationships with the campus community during a town hall Tuesday afternoon. This meeting was held one day after the other final candidate, Keith Humphrey, spoke at a separate town hall Monday in the Indiana Memorial Union Maple Room.
McCollough and Humphrey are running to replace former IU Chief of Police Jill Lees, who left IUPD in September after serving in the role since 2019. IUPD has not released any further information on why Lees left the department and previously declined to comment on her departure.
In September, shortly after Lee’s departure from IUPD, the Indiana Daily Student reported IU settled a civil rights lawsuit involving the arrest of Moses Baryoh Jr., an IU graduate student, after he did not pay a $3 parking fee in September 2022. When IU conducted a secondary review of the incident, it found IUPD officers Austin Magness and Charlotte Watts had violated IUPD policy during Baryoh Jr.’s arrest. This finding contradicted Lee’s initial review of the incident from October 2022. IU’s secondary review also found the former police chief did not follow mandatory review protocols following the arrest.
McCollough, a Michigan City native who currently resides in Terre Haute, said one reason IUPD appealed to her was because it was close to her home and family. She also said she thinks IUPD is a department where she can use her talents and skills.
“I am a collaborative leader, but I’m also a servant leader,” McCollough said. “I wouldn’t ask an officer to do something I wouldn’t do myself.”
If selected as the next IUPD Chief of Police, McCollough said she would support officers through a community-oriented policing approach.
One way she would strengthen partnerships, she said, would be holding weekly or biweekly meetings with student groups, faculty and staff to hear their ideas. She would invite community members to ride-alongs with police officers and possibly establish a Citizens’ Police Academy to address misconceptions about law enforcement. In the Citizens’ Police Academy, community members would be able to see how officers implement different resources and policies on service calls.
Additionally, McCollough said she would create an inclusive campus environment by re-evaluating the IUPD hiring process, such as initiating new recruiting strategies to find more qualified candidates who are representative of the different campus populations.
She said she would also encourage officers to do more patrols outside of their vehicles, which she believes would make them more accessible for students, staff and faculty. McCollough also said she would emphasize transparency in IUPD operations.
“Transparency is a crucial point when you’re establishing trust in a campus community,” McCollough said. “Being transparent is telling people ‘why’ when you can.”
Tamara McCollough’s background
McCollough currently works as a consultant for The Riseling Group, a professional services firm that specializes in campus safety, security and regulatory compliance. According to her curriculum vitae, as a consultant she leads investigations, deals with high-pressure situations, ensures compliance to safety and coordinates with law enforcement agencies to respond to security incidents.
Additionally, McCollough works as an adjunct lecturer teaching criminal justice, campus security and criminology theory courses at Indiana State University. She also serves on the Indiana Police Accreditation Coalition and works as an International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators accreditation assessor, where she manages review processes for university police and public safety departments pursuing IACLEA accreditation.
Prior to applying to serve as IUPD Chief of Police, McCollough worked in public safety and law enforcement roles at two universities. She served as the Clery Compliance Lieutenant for Indiana State University from 2015 to 2022, coordinating the university’s Clery compliance efforts. During her time at Indiana State Police, she also held the positions of police corporal, accreditation manager and police officer.
She later served as the director of Public Safety for Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a role where she oversaw the day-to-day functions of the institution’s public safety office.
McCollough graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy as a certified law enforcement officer in 2006. She attended Indiana State University to earn her bachelor's in criminology and criminal justice in 2008. She later received her master's in criminology and criminal justice from Indiana State University in 2016. McCollough is currently pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership and management from Drexel University.
