Promoting skills and an understanding of the complex environment of being a chief or police executive is critical to organizational success in promotions and succession planning. Developing a formal program within your agency that can include mentoring, job shadowing, rotation and other components shows a commitment to your employees today and in the future. We will look at agency policies, practices and hear from what some agencies have formally implemented.
Pete Dunbar started with the Oakland Police
Department in 1982. He served in a
variety of assignments and positions in Patrol, Investigations and
Training. In 1999, he was appointed as a
Deputy Chief, where he was assigned to Field Operations and Services. In February of 2006, he was appointed as
Chief of Police of the Pleasant Hill Police Department and retired as Chief on
September 28, 2012. On October 8, 2012,
he was appointed as the Director of the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST) where he worked until November of 2014. He received the Attorney General’s Award for
Exceptional Performance for his work while at POST. Dunbar received a Bachelor of Science degree
in Commerce from the University of Santa Clara in 1982. He received a Master of Arts Degree in
Education from San Diego State University in 2002.
Chief Dunbar has taught Strategic and
Succession Planning in the POST Management Course for the San Diego Regional
Training Center. He has been an instructor for the Chief’s Association in the
topics of Ethics, Strategic and Succession Planning and the Leadership
Challenge. He facilitated the Becoming a
Police Chief Class (formerly The Role of the Police Chief) for four years and
developed and facilitated Succeeding as a Police Chief since its
inception. He has consulted with several
departments regarding strategic and succession planning, including Huntington
Beach and Grass Valley Police Departments. He is a graduate of POST Master
Instructor Class 2.