07/05/2023 - UTPD Chief of Police Eve Stephens Photo credit: Detective Scott Stanfield
With 24 years of transformational leadership experience in law enforcement, Eve Stephens became sixth Chief of Police and Assistant Vice President of Campus Security at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday, July 5, 2023. Stephens leads a force of more than 100 UTPD employees and sworn police officers.
Stephens has served the Austin community, working her way up through the ranks at the Austin Police Department (APD). In 1999, she started her career as a patrol officer in East Austin. After seven years, she was promoted to detective and served in APD’s Child Abuse, Internal Affairs and Financial Crimes Units. From there, Stephens served as a Sergeant over a team in South Central Patrol and moved to lead a unit in the Organized Crime Division. In 2016, Stephens was hand-picked by the APD Chief of Police to serve as Staffing Lieutenant. In April 2019, Stephens became a lieutenant over APD’s Training Academy, training approximately 333 cadets in a two-year span and boasting a 100% pass rate for the state peace officer licensing exam. In August 2021, she was promoted to Commander, providing leadership for more than 110 sworn officers in the North Central Patrol Bureau.
Stephens graduated summa cum laude from Sam Houston State University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in Spanish. She earned her Master of Public Safety from the University of Virginia. Chief Stephens is an FBI National Academy Graduate and has completed professional training on diversity, hate crimes, APD SWAT School and is a certified Mental Health Officer with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE).
Stephens succeeds David Carter, who lost his battle with cancer in 2022.