Milford, DE
Chief Cecilia Ashe is a 27-year veteran of law enforcement who was appointed as Chief of Police for the City of Milford Police Department, DE in February 2023. Prior to her appointment, she worked at Wilmington Police Department in Wilmington, DE for approximately 17 years, where she was assigned as the Inspector of Operations. Chief Ashe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Wilmington University and is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Policing, Session 70. She was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Wilmington Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center, which was the first in the State of Delaware. Additionally, she developed a Crime Gun Intelligence Center in partnership with ATF that focuses on NIBIN lead investigations and has resulted in hundreds of leads in firearms investigations.
Based on her work in this field, Chief Ashe was accepted into the National Institute of Justice’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program in 2019. She has most recently been recognized for her leadership, oversight and strategic planning while implementing Group Violence Intervention in Wilmington which was plagued with gun violence. This resulted in an over 58% reduction in homicides and nearly 30% reduction in shooting incidents, while simultaneously reducing citizen complaints against officer by over 22% by the end of 2022 within the City of Wilmington.
The NIJ LEADS program will facilitate Chief Ashe in advancing her knowledge of evidence-based research in law enforcement, which she will take back to her department to further its commitment to integrating research and science into policies and practices.