John Stanford | BIO
John M. Stanford, Jr. has nearly twenty-five years of law enforcement experience that extends back to First Judicial District where he officially started his law enforcement career as a County Probation/Parole Officer. He joined the Philadelphia Police Department in 2002. First Deputy Commissioner Stanford acquired a B.A. in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Business from the Pennsylvania State University. He is also a graduate of Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, School of Police Staff and Command; and he has a Master’s Degree in Organizational Development and Leadership from Saint Joseph’s University. He is also a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy and PERF’s – Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP). He is also a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute.
During his career with the Philadelphia Police Department First Deputy Commissioner Stanford has served in many different roles. He currently oversees Field Operations which is the day to day operations of the department. He was promoted to First Deputy in 2022 and appointed to the position of Interim Police Commissioner in September 2023. In January of 2024 he transitioned from interim back to his current position as First Deputy Commissioner of Field Operations. Under this umbrella are Patrol Operations, Investigations, Special Operations, The Office of Intelligence and Analysis and the Office of Forensic Science. Prior to being promoted to Deputy, he held the rank of Inspector, where he served as the Commanding Officer of the Internal Affairs Division overseeing Investigative Support Services (ISS) and the Force Investigation Team (FIT)/Shooting Investigation Team. During his tenure under the Office of Professional Responsibility he served as the Acting Chief Inspector, expanding his responsibility to include Recruitment, Court Liaison, Standards and Accountability and Overtime Management.
In 2022, the Deputy served as a member of the Department's Racial Equity Cohort, where he collaborated with a team to develop department specific racial equity action plans to recommend strategies to advance equity in the City. Prior to his promotion to Inspector in December of 2019, First Deputy Commissioner Stanford was the Commanding Officer of the 19th Police District. He was responsible for creating strategic plans to combat daily crime and quality of life concerns within the district. In addition to those tasks, he worked hard to build strong, positive relationships with residents, business owners and community members of the 19th District, in addition to developing his personnel and elevating their skillset and work ethic.
First Deputy Commissioner Stanford has previously held the position of Commander of The Public Affairs/Social Media Unit where he served as the Public Information Officer. First Deputy Commissioner Stanford has also worked in the 12th, 18th, and 22nd Districts, South Detective Division. His experience in every facet of the department has granted him the opportunity to garner an array of experience in policing tactics, plainclothes/narcotics enforcement, investigations, media relations and community policing.
