Alumni Awards of Distinction
Alumni Public Service Award
Stanley L. Sniff '80 B.A. Philosophy
Stanley L. Sniff ('80 B.A. Philosophy) is a career law enforcement officer who has worked to ensure public safety for nearly three decades. He started his career as a police officer with the city of Coachella in 1975 and transferred to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1979.
As a sergeant assigned in the Coachella Valley, Sniff created and oversaw the first traffic safety program and specialized traffic unit in the communities of La Quinta, Indian Wells, Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage. These programs reduced total collision rates in those cities and were lauded by the Institute of Traffic. In 1986, Sniff was selected as the Indio Sheriff Station’s Officer of the Year.
The city of Palm Desert honored Sniff for establishing traffic programs in the desert communities. As captain of the Ben Clark Training Center, he brought in computer-assisted training simulators that dramatically improved California peace officer training.
In 2000, Sniff served as the elected president of the Riverside County Law Enforcement Administrators Association. The organization is composed of nearly 50 senior executives representing all the city police chiefs, county law enforcement, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies. Sniff, who was a Sheriff’s captain at the time, was the first non-Sheriff to serve in this capacity.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department honored Sniff with the 2003 National Defense Award. In January 2004, he was appointed assistant sheriff and currently oversees nearly 1,200 Sheriff’s employees in the Court/Civil Division and Corrections Divisions.