Northern Illinois University police chief Tom Phillips chats with a student following a recent appearance at an NIU academic building. (Photo by Jack McCarthy / Chronicle Media)

Tom Phillips likens his job to serving as chief of police in a small town.

And while there are parallels to work in comparable Northern Illinois and suburban Chicago communities, the 47-year-old law enforcement veteran also serves a unique constituency as chief of the 55-member Northern Illinois University force.

Phillips spoke of his work and answered questions during a recent Barsema Hall appearance as part of a series of LEAD (Leaders in Ethics and Academic Discipline) campus discussions.

“There’s a lot of similarities, we do a lot of things that local police do,” he said. “But working in this environment presents a lot of challenges but also opportunities to build relationships that I didn’t feel like I could get going to a local town or local agencies.”

NIU has low crime rates, confirmed by recently released statistics for 2015. Phillips aims to keep it that way.

“No community is immune from crime … (but NIU) is a safe campus,” he said. “The difference between what we do at the university setting and maybe your home town is that we proactively try to keep you informed. You’re going to get an email, you’re going to get a text, you’re going to get these different things. You’re going to see it on social media.

“I proactively provide information because I want you to know,” Phillips added.

Phillips was approachable and open while addressing the overflow crowd as well as in informal chats that followed. He eschewed his chief’s uniform in favor of a dark grey, three-button suit with light blue shirt and striped tie.

Communication isn’t just a one-way direction from police to various campus constituencies.

NIU offers a Citizen’s Police Academy that allows students, staff and faculty to learn how the department operates. Police also support an evening Huskie student patrol and as well as a Community Policing Unit that seeks to build partnerships with the community.

NIU Police also offer training on what to do during an on-campus emergency such a classroom intruder, a program for self-defense training and tactics for women and Phillips said there are plans to create a neighborhood watch program inside residence halls.

Phillips is the father of three, including a son enrolled at NIU.

“My second son is now a student here, so I take a personal interest in campus safety,” he said. “(And) I’m not just the chief, I’m also an alum. I graduated recently with my master’s.”

Growing up in hardscrabble Flint, Mich., Phillips said he never dreamed of this career path.

“I never thought I was going to be a police officer. I never thought I was going to go to college,” he said. “I grew up in an impoverished community (with a) single parent — my mom and four siblings. Growing up in that environment was very tough for us. I grew up without a father and we struggled so much that I dropped out of high school at 16. I didn’t drop out because I had to go to work to help to support my family.”

But Phillips discovered a way out. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, completed high school and went on to find his calling in police work.

“I went on to serve our country for eight years as a military policeman and that’s kind of how I got into policing,” he said. “I never thought in a million years I’d be a police officer. … I fell into the career and I fell in love with it.”

Phillips went on work for the City of Chicago’s Inspector General’s office and later joined the University of Illinois at Chicago police department, serving from 1996-2012 and rising to deputy police chief.

He joined then NIU force in 2013 following a nationwide search for a new chief. Phillips succeeded Donald Grady, who served for 11 years before being dismissed in the wake of a controversial investigation involving an off-duty NIU officer and an alleged off-campus sexual assault.

Phillips’ department released an annual report last week that showed low overall crime and a significant drop in arrests and referrals related to drugs and alcohol in calendar year 2015.

Arrests for drug-related offenses on the DeKalb campus in declined by 45 percent while alcohol-related arrests were down by 70 percent. The declines were attributed to improved alcohol and drug awareness education in residence halls.

“As part of our Community Oriented Policing Strategies, we have been making a concerted effort to educate students who live on campus about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse,” Phillips said in a statement accompanying the report. “Given that knowledge, our students can make better choices. We are committed to educating our students so they can enjoy the many social activities available while staying safe.”