Chief Ronal W. Serpas, Ph. D.
On January 12, 2004, Mayor Bill Purcell appointed Ronal W. Serpas, PhD,
as the sixth Chief of Police in the Metropolitan Government's 41-year
history. Chief Serpas is a strong advocate of community policing and,
soon after his arrival, implemented an Accountability Driven Leadership
strategy throughout the police department. During weekly COMPSTAT meetings
led by Serpas, the department's entire management team focuses accountability
on the department's crime fighting, quality of life and community policing
efforts. Under his command, the COMPSTAT model has been unprecedented
in coordinating weekly data-driven crime review and forging a consensus
on strategies to help make Nashville the safest big city in America.
Since his arrival in Nashville, overall reported crime (UCR Part 1 Offenses)
has dropped about 5.5%. In 2005, the number of reported major crimes
was the lowest in 14 years. Moreover, the reported major crimes rate
in 2005 (number of UCR Part 1 Offenses per 100,000 residents) was the
lowest since 1989.
Chief Serpas remains strongly committed to a renewed emphasis in improving neighborhood quality of life by declaring war on crime and drugs. Precinct-based undercover drug detectives, who began their work in mid-2004, have made tremendous strides in the arrests of street-level drug dealers and the seizures of marijuana and cocaine. Moreover, overall physical and citation arrests are up by 17 and 26% respectively. Warrants served by arrest are up 150%. Enhanced traffic enforcement has helped lead to an 8% decrease in crashes. All of these initiatives reflect the tremendous work of the men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department and were accomplished at a time when MNPD staffing dipped by 4.59%.
Chief Serpas has encouraged and incorporated the citizens of Nashville in his commitment to protect and preserve quality of life. Neighborhood Watch groups have increased in number during the past two years (2004) and (2005) by 33%. Many nights of the month, Chief Serpas finds himself in churches, community centers and homes speaking to Neighborhood Watch and community groups about active criminal cases, crime trends and quality of life issues. In scientific, independent surveys of 400 Nashville residents and 400 Nashville businesses, more than 8 in 10 respondents from both groups reported that they were satisfied with the police department's overall competence and quality of service.
Through the weekly Compstat meetings, Chief Serpas urges commanders
to uniquely tailor traditional and non-traditional law enforcement programs
and efforts to their specific territorial areas of responsibility. At
the same time, the principles of accountability, efficiency and effectiveness
remain at the forefront.
(Chief Serpas' article, "Beyond COMPSTAT: Accountability Driven
Leadership" was published in the January 2004 issue of Police
Chief Magazine, a publication of the International Association of Chiefs
of Police. He co-authored "An Employee Disciplinary System That
Makes Sense" that was published in the September 2003 issue of
Police Chief Magazine. In 2005 he was appointed as co-chair of the
IACP Research Advisory Committee. Among the committee's goals are:(1)
establish and sustain effective research partnerships among law enforcement
agencies and university based researchers (2) aid in the preparation
of intermittent reports to the field on the partnership findings (3)
support research underway by the United States Department of Justice,
particularly the National Institute of Justice, through input, advice
and the annual research agenda).
Prior to coming to Nashville, Chief Serpas was selected by Governor Gary Locke in 2001 as Chief of the Washington State Patrol. During his tenure there, the WSP was selected as the first place winner for Highway Patrol/State Police agencies with more than 1000 officers in the 2002 International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Chief's Challenge Award. The WSP was also chosen as the Winner of the 2002 Clayton J. Hall Memorial Award for the law enforcement agency that represents the most effective comprehensive traffic safety program. WSP was chosen from a pool of over 400 departments reviewed. Chief Serpas resigned from the WSP to return to urban policing with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
Prior to moving to Washington, Chief Serpas retired as the Assistant Superintendent of Police and the first Chief of Operations of the New Orleans Police Department. Serpas rose through the ranks of the New Orleans Police Department where he served from June 1980 to July 2001. Under his leadership as the first Chief of Operations, responsible for the implementation of a full decentralization strategy and COMPSTAT, overall violent crime was reduced by 54% between 1996 and 2001.
Chief Serpas received his Doctorate in Urban Studies, with an emphasis in Urban Crime, from the University of New Orleans in 1998. While in New Orleans, he served as an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Extraordinary Faculty, at Loyola University from 1993 until his relocation to Washington State. Chief Serpas has been a consultant to Linder and Associates (the originators of COMPSTAT), the Police Foundation, and has spoken extensively, both nationally and internationally, on topics relating to leadership, accountability, racial profiling, urban crime and community policing.
Serpas is a 26-year law enforcement veteran whose motto is to "MAKE A DIFFERENCE every day." He expects every member of the Metropolitan Police Department to fully contribute to this goal.
Chief Serpas is married to Jill Roy Serpas. She is a Registered Nurse at a local hospital. The Chief has three children.