ST. GEORGE — Wes LiCalzi has been appointed as the new chief of police for the Utah Tech Police Department, continuing its mission to protect, serve and educate the university community.

LiCalzi served as the interim chief for six months before he was awarded the title full-time. He told St. George News he is excited about this opportunity and plans to take the role to a new level.

LiCalzi said he aspires to be a friendly neighborhood police officer, like the superheroes of old. Or at least, that’s how he thought of them when he was a kid.

“Not to sound too cheesy, but they were superheroes,” he said. “Your job is to go and help people. Your purpose is to go and help people.”

But even becoming a superhero turned out to be difficult as he said he thought he didn’t fit the bill.

“I kind of stumbled into law enforcement, to be honest,” LiCalzi said. “I always thought you had to be this big, tough, burly type-A alpha male to be in law enforcement. And, you know, I’ve never quite been that.”

His first role in 2008 was a clerical position for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. He observed officers and deputies come and go all day and realized he wasn’t all that different from them.

So he marched into the chief’s office and asked if there were any openings. By that weekend, he was on duty.

“That doesn’t happen too often. In fact, the stars kind of aligned for it,” he said.

He said being a “big towering tough guy” isn’t as effective as communication, which he picked up from his negotiation days and still uses as a cornerstone of his process.

“I think that the most important thing that we can do is have communication and share information,” he said.

LiCalzi worked in the Washington County Purgatory Facility, then moved to the patrol division. It was then he got involved with the crisis negotiation unit. He also served as a detective sergeant, all roles within Washington County.

He then joined Utah Tech as a reserve officer and said he enjoyed the work.

“I like the fact that when we show up, people are happy that we’re there,” LiCalzi said. “We have a good reputation. We get to be that friendly, community-oriented type of police officer.”

He said that from day one, he met with all the officers individually and with representatives from different university departments to try to figure out what was and wasn’t working. From there, he tinkered.

“We made a lot of just real quality-of-life changes,” he said. “We also changed a lot of it to make it easier for officers to do their jobs.”

His desire for better communication extends to the public, too. Citing a generation of phone-phobic university students, he’s working on a way for students to report a crime or ask for help without going through the dispatch line.

“I want people to reach out to us no matter what,” he said. “They can shoot us a quick text with thoughts, concerns and feelings.”

LiCalzi said he’s always had the mindset to just be himself while he was interim chief, and now that he has the full title, he doesn’t need to change his process because he’s been operating at a high level thus far.

“My whole goal was, I’m just going to hit the ground running,” he said. “Do what I would do normally if I were the full chief.”

Fellow Utah Tech Police Sgt. Juan Fulgencio said LiCalzi has an effective leadership style.

“He’ll be a person with you,” he said. “When you need help, he’s always there and available.”

Fulgencio said the chief aims to foster good relationships with the officers and get to know them personally. With only nine officers, including the chief, he said it is crucial that everyone gets along and that LiCalzi keeps the morale high.

But it is not without challenges. LiCalzi said the biggest one going forward is something all officers face: perception.

“An officer can make YouTube by doing something bad, then we’re all kind of lumped into that category,” he said, adding that the profession is unique that way.

The idea of perception is something the students deal with, too, he said.

“A lot of them feel like they’re bothering us. They’re never bothering us,” he said. “You could call our officers anytime, day or night, and they will come over and escort you to wherever you’re going.”

He said that oftentimes, interaction with an officer is the most important part of someone’s day, whether that’s someone locking their key in their car or stopping on the roadside to jump a car.

“I can’t change the perception nationwide, but what I can change within my control is the perception here,” he said.

He said he’s committed to student safety, holding self-defense classes that are open to community members and students. He said a new exchange area outside of their office is up where exchanging goods online can be done in a safe place. There is also a button they can press there to talk to officers on shift because they are on 24/7.

He counts himself lucky to be successful but thinks that he may have a secret recipe he can pass along: really, truly caring.

“I think that’s what drives me and the other officers here. When we get a case, it’s not just going through the motions. It’s not taking a witness statement down and throwing it in a pile,” he said. “I consider you one of my family members. And I’m here to help.”

Utah Tech’s police department can be reached at their office line at 435 652 7515 during regular business hours. The non-emergency dispatch line is available 24 hours a day at 435 627 4300.  You can also email them at [email protected] or can message the chief directly at [email protected]

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