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BIOGRAPHY Colonel Joseph J. Mokwa Chief of Police Metropolitan Police Department Colonel Joseph J. Mokwa joined the Metropolitan Police Department on February 8, 1971. He was appointed Chief of Police on May 11, 2001. He is the city's 32nd Chief of Police. Colonel Mokwa manages the largest police department in the state of Missouri and is responsible for the management of one third of the city's budget, which translates to $140 million annually. He oversees 1,400 sworn officers and 600 civilian employees and one of only three nationally accredited forensic labs in Missouri. When Colonel Mokwa assumed the role of Chief, he developed and implemented a strategic plan that would allow the Department to be more adaptive and flexible to shifting laws, policies, citizen engagement, technology innovations, and much more. As a strong community advocate, Mokwa has decentralized the historical Department bureaucracy, strengthened local commands, increased responsiveness to community concerns, and established strong law enforcement relationships and strategies both locally and nationally. Under Mokwa's leadership, the Department's policing strategy has focused on crime prevention. Mokwa launched the Department's Crime Suppression Unit (CSU), to serve as a swift, tactical unit that will identify problem hot spots and aggressively investigate and arrest dangerous career criminals. This unit provides the Department with a powerful nucleus of officers that have the flexibility to implement the Department's aggressive, anti-crime strategies. Technology is a key component to Colonel Mokwa's policing strategy. Under Mokwa, the Department built an $8.5 million state-of-the-art forensic laboratory that can quickly process critical evidence used to prosecute offenders. Colonel Mokwa also initiated the creation of the Department's Crime Analysis Unit (CAU). The CAU, staffed by a combination of commissioned and civilian crime analysts, utilizes innovative geographical mapping information systems to more quickly map crime and detect patterns and hot spots. In 2001, Colonel Mokwa launched the Most Violent Offenders Program, an anti-crime unit that targeted the city's most notorious criminals. He also initiated the Anti-Crime Task Force and the Bait Car Program which combines the investigative efforts of police officers with new, state-of-the-art technology to arrest auto thieves. The task force engages in a variety of undercover details using Department decoy vehicles in locations throughout the city. The Bait Car Program utilizes bait vehicles equipped with global satellite tracking and surveillance systems. The cars are also equipped with video and audio surveillance. This program resulted in a steady decrease in vehicle theft, dropping more than 25 percent in its first year of operation, and an additional eight percent in its second year. Colonel Mokwa is a member of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. He is regularly called upon to speak at national conferences on policing strategies and collaborates with law enforcement officials across the country regarding innovative approaches to reducing crime. Colonel Mokwa has received more than 20 Chief's Letters of Commendation from the Department during his career for acts of intelligent and valuable police service. In 2006, he received the Life Crisis Services: Public Service Leadership Award, the Heat Up St. Louis Award of Merit in 2004, the Quality of Life Award from St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay in 2004 and the Harry Clinton, Sr. Memorial Showdown Award in 2004. He is a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute and the Secret Service Dignitary Protection Center. |
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