James O’Keefe, Ph.D. ’79SVC graduated from St. John’s University
in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. Shortly after
graduation, he began his career in law enforcement as a police
officer in Texas with the Houston Police Department: “For the ten
years that I was with the Houston Police Department, I served as a
uniformed and undercover police officer assigned to the Vice Squad
specifically to investigate narcotics and child pornography cases.
I ended up becoming a Special Assistant to the Chief of Patrol,”
says Dr. O’Keefe. During that time he was the recipient of numerous
commendations for excellent police service and was the first
recipient of the 100 Club of Houston-Law Enforcement Scholarship.
Dr. O’Keefe completed his Master’s degree in police science and
administration and, in 1989, was awarded a Ph.D. in criminal
justice administration from Sam Houston State
University.
Upon his return to New York City, in 1981, O’Keefe became the
Associate Director of the Office of Management & Budget for the
New York City Transit Police Department. He was soon promoted
to Director of Training when the first independent New York City
Transit Police Academy was established. The Transit Police
Academy went on to develop several specialty recruit and in-service
training courses specially designed to implement the new crime
reduction strategies and tactics which ultimately helped reduce
crime on the New York City subway system by 48.8%: “In that
professional capacity, I was responsible for the education and
training of 40,000 uniformed and 15,000 civilian members of the
service, with an operating budget of $26.7 million.” Under
Dr. O’Keefe’s leadership, the New York City Police Academy was
frequently recognized with many awards and honors, including the
NYPD’s “Unit Citation Award” given for the first time by Police
Commissioner Howard Safir during Medal Day Ceremonies.
Dr. James O’Keefe retired from the New York City Police
Department in 2001 and became an Associate professor of Criminal
Justice at St. John’s University, where he currently serves as
Associate Dean & Professor. Dr. O’Keefe now teaches
undergraduate and graduate seminars in police administration,
public policy and law enforcement leadership. He has
published many scholarly articles and books, including “Protecting
the Republic: The Education & Training of American Police
Officers. He is frequently called upon as an expert witness
in law enforcement policies and practices, and is a recognized
internationally as an expert in law enforcement education and
training.