AUBURN – Acting police Chief Phil Crowell has been named chief, City Manager Pat Finnigan announced Tuesday.

Crowell, who has served as acting chief since Richard Small resigned in June, is a 20-year public safety professional. He has been with the Auburn Police Department since 1993.

Finnigan said Crowell was selected from a group of highly qualified applicants from Maine and beyond.

“We were seeking a visionary and creative leader who would have the confidence and trust of the police officers and our community. We have that in Phil Crowell,” she said.

Crowell joined the Auburn Police Department as a patrol officer. He served as a school resource officer and later as a detective in the city’s Criminal Investigation Division, where he specialized in cases involving sexual abuse of minors. He was promoted to deputy chief in 2000.

Crowell said Tuesday he was honored to be chosen as Auburn’s chief of police.

“The Auburn Police Department consists of highly qualified and dedicated sworn officers and civilians,” he said. “We are eager to build on our partnership with the community, as we strive to continue to ensure Auburn is Maine’s safest large community in which to live,” Crowell said. “The department is committed to achieving this through our core values of honor, excellence, loyalty and professionalism.”

Crowell is responsible for many initiatives that have helped make the Auburn Police Department among the best in the state, Finnigan said.

He started Auburn’s first Citizens Police Academy in 2002 and worked collaboratively with the public safety departments in Androscoggin and Franklin counties to develop a shared database that helps officers solve crime with the use of homeland security grants.

Crowell also developed grant applications that resulted in the Auburn Police Department receiving more than $1 million in grants.

Finnigan praised his efforts to curb domestic violence.

“Phil recognized that domestic violence was a crime that destroyed families, but the perpetrators were allowed to keep coming back to the home and repeat their offenses,” she said.

Through his leadership, the APD developed an effective program in which police officers work closely with families. “This has resulted in a dramatic decrease in repeat offenses,” Finnigan said.

Crowell has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and is a graduate of the FBI Academy. He served in the U.S. Army during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, where he was awarded two Bronze Service Stars.

He lives in Auburn with his wife, Jennifer, and their two children, Megan and Jonah.

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