Stephen D. Lodge, Chief of Police
Chief Lodge joined the Santa Clara Police Department as a Police Officer in 1980 and has remained with Santa Clara for his entire law enforcement career. He has served in the Patrol Division, Administrative Services and Investigations Division.
In November of 1994, Steve was promoted from Sergeant to Lieutenant and worked as a Patrol Division Watch Commander and coordinator of the Police Reserve Program. Steve was also one of the co-founders of the Citizens’ Police Academy and assisted in the development of the Department’s Values Statement.
Steve was promoted to Captain in April of 1997. For the next 3½ years, Steve was the Patrol Division Commander responsible for 98 of the department’s 146 sworn employees.
The City of Santa Clara is the last city in California to have an elected police chief. Steve was elected Chief of Police in November 2000. Chief Lodge is a strong supporter of Community Oriented Policing and believes that involving the community in policing is the best way to address quality of life issues that affect us all.
Steve is a graduate of San Jose State University and holds two Bachelor’s degrees: the first in Administration of Justice, and the second in Business Management. Steve is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the POST Supervisory Leadership Institute.