After working in law enforcement for several years, Paula Balafas decided she needed something more.
She needed an extra push and found it after she enrolled in the English master’s program at the University of Colorado Boulder.
The program satisfied her academically, but still, she found herself wanting more professionally.
In 2001, she was promoted to sergeant after eight years of working at the Wheat Ridge Police Department. She later left and joined the Cherry Hills Village Police Department with hopes of continuing to move up the ladder.
But no such luck.
“The commander there is still there to this day,” Balafas said.
She found a job opening at the CU Boulder Police Department and remembered the department had a female police chief, whom she had met during a training program.
“She talked about just how wonderful university policing was,” Balafas said. “When this job came open, I was excited by the opportunity and was already a two-time CU grad.”
Nearly five years ago, Balafas joined the Boulder campus as a division commander. Soon, she will bid Boulder and the department farewell as she continues to climb the ladder.
Earlier this month, Balafas accepted the position as the University of Arizona’s first female police chief. Her start date has not been finalized, but she believes it will be in mid-March.
“Itap a promotion, so itap different from being a division commander,” she said. “It will be the first time in my career that I will be responsible for an entire department and the direction that it takes.”
In the U.S., women make up only 12% of sworn officers and 3% of police leadership, according to data from the .
Balafas said she enjoyed working with two female leaders: Former CU Boulder Chief Melissa Zak and Chief Doreen Jokerst.
“I have learned so much from Chief Jokerst,” Balafas said. “Going to Arizona is bittersweet. Itap again, that opportunity to take my career to the next level.”
During her years in Boulder, Balafas assisted the CU Boulder Police Department with rewriting its policy manual by updating everything from uniform standards to use of force protocols. The changes will bring the department up to date with standards outlined by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.
“The entire policy manual was rewritten, and I would say thatap my proudest thing I have done while I’ve been here,” Balafas said.
Jokerst said she is proud of Balafas.
“I look forward to working with her in the future as a fellow PAC-12 chief,” she wrote in an email.
As a police chief, Balafas will be responsible for setting the tone and culture at the department in Arizona. She is ready for the task.
“They already have so many great things going for them,” Balafas said. “They are very well respected in the area. This gives me an opportunity to step into a police department that is doing such great work and really try to be a good bridge.”
![[prison 19] Caption: This is Cellhouse 1, Pod A, from ground level inside the Sterling Correctional Facility which is located outside of Sterling, Colorado Thursday afternoon. Photographer: LEW SHERMAN Title: FREELANCE Credit: SPECIAL TO THE POST City: Sterling State: CO Country: USA Date: 19990617 ObjectName: prison 19 Keyword: PUBDATE____1999_06_22](/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20151207__denverpostp1.jpg?w=538 "20151207__denverpost~p1.jpg")
