Affiliated Faculty, Department of Political ScienceChief of the University of Georgia Police Department

Dan Silk is the Chief of the University of Georgia Police Department, and has served more than 20 years in local, campus, and federal law enforcement. In 2009 he was a Fulbright Police Research Fellow in the United Kingdom, which provided data for his PhD dissertation in UGA’s Department of Lifelong Education, Administration and Policy.

Education
  •  Ph.D., University of Georgia 2010, Adult Education
  • M.A., University of Georgia 2000, Religion
  • B.A., University of Georgia 1997, Religion
More About

Dr. Dan Silk is a 22-year veteran of law enforcement, and has served in local and campus policing roles, and as a federal agent and diplomat.  In 2002 he was part of the first permanent staff at the newly re-opened US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan; he has also been a captain with the Athens-Clarke County (Georgia) Police Department, where at various times he commanded a community policing unit, internal affairs, training, and vice.  He currently works for the University of Georgia Police Department as the Chief of Police.

As a Fulbright Police Research Fellow, Dan studied outreach between Muslim communities and British police in 2009, and a similar topic was the subject of his PhD dissertation.  Dan has continued to conduct work in this area, publishing articles, developing and delivering training, and serving as the lead editor of the book Preventing Ideological Violence: Communities, Police, and Case Studies of “Success” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).  Dan has amassed substantial operational, training, and consulting experience overseas, and has been called on to provide instruction on community policing and countering violent extremism for the United Nations at conferences in Amman, Jordan and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and also for the US State Department in Kathmandu, Nepal.  Dan has additionally been requested to give presentations on the same topic for the  International Association of Chiefs of Police, for US Attorneys’ offices and federal law enforcement, at academic conferences in the US and UK, and for police forces and community partners in the UK.

Dan’s bachelor’s degree is in Religion, as is his master’s degree, with an emphasis on Islamic Studies.  Since 1999 he has had the opportunity to study or work in a number of Muslim communities around the world, and has long been interested in studying how law enforcement and Muslim communities interact and work together.

Areas of Expertise
  • Community Policing
  • Police-community Relations
  • Counter-terrorism
Honors, Awards, and Achievements

UGA Student Government Association Outstanding Professor Award, 2013; United Nations expert panel member/facilitator on community policing and counter-terrorism in West Africa and the Middle East, 2013; Fulbright Police Research Fellow, 2009; Member of the first permanent embassy staff at US Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan, 2002.

Selected Publications
  • LePere-Schloop, M., Williams, B. N., Christensen, R. K., & Silk, P. D. (Forthcoming).  Appraising the appraisal process: Manager and patrol officer perspectives.  The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles.
  • Williams, B. N., LePere-Schloop, M., Silk, P. D., & Hebdon, A. (Forthcoming). The co-production of campus safety and security: A case study at the University of Georgia. The International Review of Administrative Sciences, 82 (1).
  • McDonald, L. Z., Spalek, B., Silk, P. D., Da Silva, R., & Limbada, Z. (2015). Counter-terrorism as conflict transformation.  In Jarvis, L., & Lister, M. (Eds.), Critical Perspectives on Counter-terrorism.  Oxford, UK: Routledge.
  • Silk, P. D., O’Rawe, M., & Spalek, B. (Eds.). (2013). Preventing Ideological Violence: Communities, Police, and Case Studies of “Success.” New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Silk, P. D. (2012). Community policing to prevent violent extremism. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 81 (10), 1-6.
  • Silk, P. D. (2012). The complexity of police-Muslim community relations in the shadow of 9/11. Arches Quarterly, 5 (9), 73-82.
  • Limbada, Z., & Silk, P. D. (2012).  Reflecting on the United Kingdom ‘Prevent’ counterterrorism strategy. The Police Chief, 79, 34–40.
  • Spalek, B., Limbada, Z., McDonald, L. Z., Silk, D., & DaSilva, R. (2012). Impact of Counter-Terrorism on Communities: Methodology Report. London:  Institute for Strategic Dialogue