Growing up in South Kingstown, Alex Crudale knew from a young age that he always wanted to become a police officer, “My friend’s dad came into our kindergarten class in uniform and said, ‘This is what I do’…and it just kind of stuck,” Crudale said. “As I grew up I knew this is what I was going to do. So I started to watch police officers and see how they do things.”

Crudale graduated from the University of Rhode Island in the fall of 2022, majoring in criminal justice and criminology. Prior to enrolling, he had already hit the ground running his senior year of high school with an internship with Narragansett Police, where he received sound career advice from the police captain. Later, he earned a summer internship, which allowed him to conduct ride-a-longs with members of the force.

“I kind of just got myself into the field as much as I could and participated in as many ride -alongs with as many offices as I could just to see how different departments work,” Crudale said. “I immersed myself in it so that I would be equipped to study and get on a department once I applied.”

Along with criminal justice, Crudale graduated with minors in leadership and psychology. As part of the leadership program, students are required to take small scale and large scale leadership courses in order to learn how to work with different types of people in smaller groups and maintain leadership in larger, more corporate sized environments. 

“I think I use my leadership minor every day,” Crudale said. “Talking to people on the road, working with my coworkers, and helping people in society. So, it’s knowing where you can fit within a group and do what you can to defuse a situation.”

Now a Police Officer for the SKPD, Crudale plans to remain in South Kingstown, as the department offers a number of career paths. He plans to stay on patrol and continue working with people in order to build the necessary skills he will need for the rest of his career.

“Do everything you can to learn from every experience to make yourself a better candidate for the future,” Crudale said. “If you know you want to go into policing, do it! Engage with your community and your local Police Department to be as well prepared as you possibly could be.” 

This article was written by Erin Malinn, class of 2028.