1. Where did you grow up & what was it like? Born in Phoenix, I grew up in the Ozarks of Missouri. My formative years were is small town America with a graduating high school class of 106. We spent a lot of time outdoors swimming, fishing, and camping.
2. What is your title & your favorite part of working for your department? I worked my way up through the ranks to Captain and retired as a Lieutenant. The LE side of our dept. was 350 personnel serving a metro area of 1 million. My favorite part, as I climbed the ranks, was “fixing” broken or out of date processes or functions that I was given charge of. I believe it’s a manager or supervisors job to provide his personnel with all the tools and training to do their jobs and then get out of the way.
3. How do you define success? Making someone’s day better.
4. What have you learned over your lifetime that you'd like to share with the younger generation? It’s not about the money or the stuff it’s about the people. Relationship is all that matters. If you can leave somebody feeling better about their job or their day than the rest will take care of its self.
5. What is your favorite hobby? It used to be golf but now I find by “retirement job” of teaching and consulting my hobby. I find great satisfaction in sharing what I’ve discovered over the years and then helping agencies apply that to their training programs. I still play a little golf and do some fishing and deer hunting. Most of my free time is spent with my family which I enjoy the most.
6. Who has had the greatest influence on you? I’ve never had “idols” in people so this has always been a hard question for me. My dad was a great example of hard work, loyalty, and commitment. Leaders the employ common sense in their theme and make it easy to learn from like John Maxwell or Ken Blanchard are good examples. I have a deep Christian faith and use treating others as I would want to be treated in like circumstances as my guide.
7. What will be your legacy? Is the world better because of you/your work/your influence?My legacy at the dept. I retired from was taking them from a training ground to one of the best funded in the state. I believe that you must be accountable for yourself and your future or someone else will by default and you will probably not like the results. I hope my legacy now is that people consider themselves or situations the better for knowing me.
8. What's the funniest work story/ event you remember? As a young troop I was dispatched to a “Rattle Snake” call. I have an extreme dislike for snakes. I found a six-footer, coiled under a roll around toolbox on the carport, that was none too happy with our presence. It had almost bitten one of the children that lived in the home and mom had called us. I positioned myself about fifteen feet away, pistol in hand, trying to figure out how I was going to shoot it without a ricochet from the concrete foundation he was up against. As we continued to stare each other down, me holding my .357 magnum, in my shaky hands, he not trying to leave but none too happy with me being there, the misses of the house video camera on her shoulder behind me recording the event for her husband, and a previously unnoticed blue “bug” light hanging from the corner of the carport. Do you know the sound one of those lights makes when it zaps a bug? Especially a big bug? Well it’s similar or at least seemed very similar at the time to that of a rattle snake….. No I didn’t shoot it but almost…. The misses promptly said…”let me turn that off” of to which I shakingly responded yeaaaa. I eventually took my chances with shooting the snake where he was and now he is a belt in my closet. I don’t know whatever happened to that video tape but I’m sure it would win the big money on the funniest video show.
9. Is there anything I haven't asked about that you would care to comment on? I would encourage those behind me to find an honorable mentor and someone that has full access and permission to hold them accountable. This would have prevented me from making some of the mistakes I make in my life.
10. What is your favorite dinner & what do you drink with it? A Ribeye steak, cooked on the grill, medium rare, with a baked potato cooked in the coals and then covered in butter and sour cream, and grilled zucchini. I glass of Merlot is a nice addition
2. What is your title & your favorite part of working for your department? I worked my way up through the ranks to Captain and retired as a Lieutenant. The LE side of our dept. was 350 personnel serving a metro area of 1 million. My favorite part, as I climbed the ranks, was “fixing” broken or out of date processes or functions that I was given charge of. I believe it’s a manager or supervisors job to provide his personnel with all the tools and training to do their jobs and then get out of the way.
3. How do you define success? Making someone’s day better.
4. What have you learned over your lifetime that you'd like to share with the younger generation? It’s not about the money or the stuff it’s about the people. Relationship is all that matters. If you can leave somebody feeling better about their job or their day than the rest will take care of its self.
5. What is your favorite hobby? It used to be golf but now I find by “retirement job” of teaching and consulting my hobby. I find great satisfaction in sharing what I’ve discovered over the years and then helping agencies apply that to their training programs. I still play a little golf and do some fishing and deer hunting. Most of my free time is spent with my family which I enjoy the most.
6. Who has had the greatest influence on you? I’ve never had “idols” in people so this has always been a hard question for me. My dad was a great example of hard work, loyalty, and commitment. Leaders the employ common sense in their theme and make it easy to learn from like John Maxwell or Ken Blanchard are good examples. I have a deep Christian faith and use treating others as I would want to be treated in like circumstances as my guide.
7. What will be your legacy? Is the world better because of you/your work/your influence?My legacy at the dept. I retired from was taking them from a training ground to one of the best funded in the state. I believe that you must be accountable for yourself and your future or someone else will by default and you will probably not like the results. I hope my legacy now is that people consider themselves or situations the better for knowing me.
8. What's the funniest work story/ event you remember? As a young troop I was dispatched to a “Rattle Snake” call. I have an extreme dislike for snakes. I found a six-footer, coiled under a roll around toolbox on the carport, that was none too happy with our presence. It had almost bitten one of the children that lived in the home and mom had called us. I positioned myself about fifteen feet away, pistol in hand, trying to figure out how I was going to shoot it without a ricochet from the concrete foundation he was up against. As we continued to stare each other down, me holding my .357 magnum, in my shaky hands, he not trying to leave but none too happy with me being there, the misses of the house video camera on her shoulder behind me recording the event for her husband, and a previously unnoticed blue “bug” light hanging from the corner of the carport. Do you know the sound one of those lights makes when it zaps a bug? Especially a big bug? Well it’s similar or at least seemed very similar at the time to that of a rattle snake….. No I didn’t shoot it but almost…. The misses promptly said…”let me turn that off” of to which I shakingly responded yeaaaa. I eventually took my chances with shooting the snake where he was and now he is a belt in my closet. I don’t know whatever happened to that video tape but I’m sure it would win the big money on the funniest video show.
9. Is there anything I haven't asked about that you would care to comment on? I would encourage those behind me to find an honorable mentor and someone that has full access and permission to hold them accountable. This would have prevented me from making some of the mistakes I make in my life.
10. What is your favorite dinner & what do you drink with it? A Ribeye steak, cooked on the grill, medium rare, with a baked potato cooked in the coals and then covered in butter and sour cream, and grilled zucchini. I glass of Merlot is a nice addition
Richard L. Whitehead bio...
Joining the Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO), Austin TX, in 1986 Rick worked his way up through the ranks to Captain as the agency grew from a few hundred to over fifteen hundred personnel. Command positions included: Homicide, SWAT, White Collar Crime, Computer Forensics, Family Violence, Child Abuse, Intelligence, Crime Lab, 911-Communications, School Resource Officer, Canine (K-9), Lake Patrol, Traffic, Patrol Platoons, and the Field Training Program. After retiring from TCSO, Rick accepted the position of Director of Columbia 911, Columbia County, Oregon. Among his accomplishments were the adoptions of a multi-million dollar budget after one meeting and a dispatcher contract in two. He now provides professional public safety services and consulting for corporations and agencies across the country through Richard Whitehead & Associates LLC.
Rick’s administrative experience includes: directing high profile investigative units, SWAT, managing multi-million dollar budgets, employee compensation programs, and equipment solutions. Incident Command during natural disasters such as the Jarrell tornado, hurricanes Rita and Katrina, and events with influxes of over 60,000 attendees. As a member of the Operations Board for the Combined Transportation Emergency Communications Center (CTECC), Austin TX, he was part of a multi-jurisdictional team which brought to realization a regional digital radio and mobile data system that serves over a million people.
His technical expertise includes: assessing unit efficiencies, design, review and implementation of training programs, instructor development, and investigative training and consultation. As a mentor and trainer, he created a Field Training Program singularly used by TCSO and widely adopted by agencies across the country.
Rick holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences Degree from Midwestern State University focused on Public Administration and Criminal Justice; is a graduate of the FBI National Academy; and the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute Leadership and Command College. He is a Certified Public Manager, and trains on a national level to include the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in Incident Command.
With 34 years in public service, Rick has been working with agencies of various sizes across the nation. At 18 years of age, he served his country in the US Army as a Military Policeman and after Honorable Discharge began his civilian career as a Patrolman for Baytown, suburb of Houston, then 25 years with the Travis County Sheriff's Office. He is married and has three grown children and two grandchildren.
Richard Whitehead & Associates LLC.
Consulting Services
Investigative
Surveillance
Forensic Statement Analysis
Case Consultation
Executive Protection
Event Security Planning
Security Consultation
Public Safety Services
Efficiency Review and Assessment
Training Programs Designed
Returning Veteran Re-Immersion
911 Communications (CTO)
SWAT Operator (STO)
New Supervisor (STO)
Corrections (CTO)
Patrol (FTO)
Training Curriculums
Field Training Officer Certification and Program Administrators Course
Designed to assimilate officers into the role of becoming professional field training officers, supervisors, or administrators. The course covers the history of field-training programs, task analysis, field-training manual development, roles and responsibilities, the learning process, conflict resolution, ethics, training/evaluation techniques, policy development, case law, and proper documentation techniques. Excellent for those wishing to redesign or build a program.
Instructor Development and Certification
Theory and practice in the learning process, learning styles, teaching styles, adult vs. youth learning, instructor ethics, personalities, and hand-on practice developing learning objectives, teaching materials, lesson plans, and presentations.
Leadership 101
Prepares supervisors and field training officers for their new role. Topics include values, ethics, principles, communication, leadership styles, problem solving, counseling techniques, personality types, cultural diversity, planning, and organizing.
Forensic Statement Analysis
Is a highly effective tool in the detection of deception and the identification of hidden information in a person’s written or spoken statement. The forensic analysis involves a process of critically examining word choice, structure, and content to determine the veracity of a statement and pinpoints areas for the investigator to explore during the interview.
Joining the Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO), Austin TX, in 1986 Rick worked his way up through the ranks to Captain as the agency grew from a few hundred to over fifteen hundred personnel. Command positions included: Homicide, SWAT, White Collar Crime, Computer Forensics, Family Violence, Child Abuse, Intelligence, Crime Lab, 911-Communications, School Resource Officer, Canine (K-9), Lake Patrol, Traffic, Patrol Platoons, and the Field Training Program. After retiring from TCSO, Rick accepted the position of Director of Columbia 911, Columbia County, Oregon. Among his accomplishments were the adoptions of a multi-million dollar budget after one meeting and a dispatcher contract in two. He now provides professional public safety services and consulting for corporations and agencies across the country through Richard Whitehead & Associates LLC.
Rick’s administrative experience includes: directing high profile investigative units, SWAT, managing multi-million dollar budgets, employee compensation programs, and equipment solutions. Incident Command during natural disasters such as the Jarrell tornado, hurricanes Rita and Katrina, and events with influxes of over 60,000 attendees. As a member of the Operations Board for the Combined Transportation Emergency Communications Center (CTECC), Austin TX, he was part of a multi-jurisdictional team which brought to realization a regional digital radio and mobile data system that serves over a million people.
His technical expertise includes: assessing unit efficiencies, design, review and implementation of training programs, instructor development, and investigative training and consultation. As a mentor and trainer, he created a Field Training Program singularly used by TCSO and widely adopted by agencies across the country.
Rick holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences Degree from Midwestern State University focused on Public Administration and Criminal Justice; is a graduate of the FBI National Academy; and the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute Leadership and Command College. He is a Certified Public Manager, and trains on a national level to include the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in Incident Command.
With 34 years in public service, Rick has been working with agencies of various sizes across the nation. At 18 years of age, he served his country in the US Army as a Military Policeman and after Honorable Discharge began his civilian career as a Patrolman for Baytown, suburb of Houston, then 25 years with the Travis County Sheriff's Office. He is married and has three grown children and two grandchildren.
Richard Whitehead & Associates LLC.
Consulting Services
Investigative
Surveillance
Forensic Statement Analysis
Case Consultation
Executive Protection
Event Security Planning
Security Consultation
Public Safety Services
Efficiency Review and Assessment
Training Programs Designed
Returning Veteran Re-Immersion
911 Communications (CTO)
SWAT Operator (STO)
New Supervisor (STO)
Corrections (CTO)
Patrol (FTO)
Training Curriculums
Field Training Officer Certification and Program Administrators Course
Designed to assimilate officers into the role of becoming professional field training officers, supervisors, or administrators. The course covers the history of field-training programs, task analysis, field-training manual development, roles and responsibilities, the learning process, conflict resolution, ethics, training/evaluation techniques, policy development, case law, and proper documentation techniques. Excellent for those wishing to redesign or build a program.
Instructor Development and Certification
Theory and practice in the learning process, learning styles, teaching styles, adult vs. youth learning, instructor ethics, personalities, and hand-on practice developing learning objectives, teaching materials, lesson plans, and presentations.
Leadership 101
Prepares supervisors and field training officers for their new role. Topics include values, ethics, principles, communication, leadership styles, problem solving, counseling techniques, personality types, cultural diversity, planning, and organizing.
Forensic Statement Analysis
Is a highly effective tool in the detection of deception and the identification of hidden information in a person’s written or spoken statement. The forensic analysis involves a process of critically examining word choice, structure, and content to determine the veracity of a statement and pinpoints areas for the investigator to explore during the interview.
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