Andrew Bidou goes west, Joseph Kreins comes east
JOSEPH KREINS.
Vallejo PD
Kreins initially announced in February he would retire as Vallejo’s chief of police, hoping to wrap up more than 35 years in law enforcement. But he promised to remain on the job until the next chief was hired.
Kreins had already retired once, in 2012 from Novato Police Department, where he also was chief. But Vallejo hired him to lead its police force on an interim basis while it searched for a permanent replacement when Robert Nichelini left after 17 years with that department.
Kreins was appointed interim Vallejo chief in July 2012. But the interim tag didn’t last.
“Our original plan was to have Chief Kreins assist the organization with the temporary transition to our next police chief,” Vallejo City Manager Daniel E. Keen said earlier this year. “Within a few months, it became obvious that we needed him to stay and help guide the department into the future.”
“Not long after my arrival, it became clear to me that there was a lot that I had to offer, both to the department and the city, by way of providing a positive leadership model that could transform the culture of the Vallejo Police Department into an outstanding and professional law enforcement organization,” Kreins said after announcing his retirement from Vallejo.
He had arrived when Vallejo’s police force had been cut by about 45 percent because of the city’s bankruptcy and other woes. He was able to hire more officers, but earlier this year the department remained below the per-capita ratio of Oakland and Richmond.
Kreins set goals for the department that he said should be met by the end of 2014. Besides building up the department’s numbers, he also worked to bring its equipment up to date, gain greater public cooperation, examine ways to address crime that appears associated with the city’s blighted areas, and collaborate with other city departments to make Vallejo a safer city.
At the same time, he said, he had to find ways to keep his department’s budget in balance.
Meanwhile, Kreins said, he reached out to Vallejo residents to gain their cooperation in reducing crime. He welcomed them to a department open house and instituted Operation Safe Net to increase the visible presence of officers and their marked cars, as well as to target specific areas or times when statistics had shown a rise in crime has been occurring.
In June, Kreins announced the formation of a Vallejo Police Advisory Group to encourage community participation and to residents’ input about the city’s public safety programs. And he continued the department’s Citizen Police Academy to give residents an overview of Vallejo’s criminal justice system, including police service.
He also started a series of Coffee with the Cops public meetings, in which residents are encouraged to chat with police about public safety issues.
Kreins is a second-generation law enforcement officer, Kilger said. In addition to being the police chief in Vallejo and Novato, he had the same post in Sausalito from 2001 to 2004. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in human relations management from Golden Gate University, and completed graduate work in marketing, crisis communication and public relations management, Kilger said.
He spent 17 years with Concord police, where he was promoted to lieutenant and district commander. He also was chosen that department’s first media relations officer, and spent four years as public information officer.
Kreins has been an instructor for the California State Training Institute and California Police Officers Standards and Training, teaching courses in leadership, supervision, crisis communication, media relations and community policing.
He succeeds Bidou, who announced last month he was resigning to accept the position of Vallejo police chief Oct. 4. Bidou’s last day in Benicia is Oct. 3.
Kilger said at the announcement of Bidou’s departure that he planned to bring an interim chief on board to serve until a new chief can be recruited.
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