Officer Patrick Lindberg checked all the boxes when he applied for the newly created School Safety Administrator position at Northville Public Schools in what has become a growing presence of police in local school buildings.

“First and foremost is to ensure the safety of students, staff, parents and visitors,” he said.


Building rapport

His role is to interact with students, work with staff and resolve any issues that could involve law enforcement. Lindberg began overseeing law enforcement at Hillside Middle School, Amerman Elementary and Cooke School on January 3.

He also works at managing the safe flow of vehicles and pedestrians in and near the Amerman and Hillside parking lots during drop-off and pick-up times.

“Sometimes it can get congested with cars and students,” Lindberg said. “We’ve been trying to improve the efficiency of that and it’s been coming along well.”

He also expects teachers will begin to invite him to speak about law enforcement to their students during class time.

“It’s an opportunity to break down walls and let them know police officers are here for their safety,” he said. “They’ve been very receptive to my presence here.”

His resumé fit the criteria of the job amazingly well.

Lindberg graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in secondary education but quickly learned that wasn’t his ideal profession. Lindberg then launched his career in law enforcement when he went to work at the City of Wayne Police Department, where he remained for more than 20 years.

Part of his job was serving as a school liaison at Wayne Memorial High School for one year. He retired from the department as a lieutenant in 2015.


Even more

But he still didn’t walk away from law enforcement. He went on to land a job working with students for the University of Michigan Division of Public Safety and Security at the Ann Arbor campus, where he served as a security officer and then as a security supervisor in the school’s museums.

His resumé continues to impress. Lindberg has taught at the Schoolcraft College Police Academy since 2008. He also served as a guest speaker at Northville High School’s recent Parent Camp.

Lindberg’s hiring is part of an initiative to add police to Northville and Northville Township school buildings for the last three years.

Northville Township Officer Michael Brown has served at Northville High School as the school liaison. Then in September 2023, the Northville Township Police Department, in partnership with NPS, hired Officer Robert McFadden, who is stationed at Meads Mill Middle School, and also provides support to other schools in Northville Township.

“Most of the time an officer’s presence in the schools helps de-escalate anything right away,” Lindberg said. “It’s about being polite and listening to the concerns that people have.”