Tom Lawrence serves as Vice President of Public
Safety for St. John’s University. In this role, he is responsible
for the safety and security of approximately 25,000 students,
faculty, administrators and staff on six campuses located in the
New York metropolitan area, Italy and France. This includes all
educational facilities, student housing, sporting events and
administrative operations. He has a staff of 90 public safety
officers supporting the campuses on a 24-hour basis.
Most recently Mr. Lawrence was involved in a state-of-the-art
upgrade of the safety and security systems on campus keeping pace
with the changing technology and the changing demands on our
society. He has worked for St. John’s University for the past 10
years. Prior to that he worked for the New York City Police
Department for 23 years where he retired as a Deputy Chief in 2003
as the Executive Officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South. During
his time with the NYPD Mr. Lawrence worked in all boroughs of the
city with the exception of Staten Island. Prior to his promotion to
Deputy Chief, Lawrence served as the Commanding Officer of the 10TH
Precinct (Chelsea), 9TH Precinct (East Village), and Midtown
Precinct South (Times Square). Mr. Lawrence has a bachelor’s degree
in Criminal Justice from C. W. Post.