Fax: 804-748-6265
Law Enforcement Career
In November 2017, Colonel Jeffrey Katz was selected to serve as Chesterfield County’s Eighth Chief of Police following an extensive nationwide recruitment process. He was sworn into office on January 4, 2018.
Col. Katz began his public service career with the City of Plantation Police Department in 1989 as a police cadet. He went on to join the City of Parkland Public Safety Department as a police officer and firefighter. Then, in 1998, Katz accepted a position as a police officer with the City of Boynton Beach Police Department in Palm Beach County, Florida – where, in 2013, after a series of progressive promotions, he was appointed to serve as the agency’s 32nd chief of police.
Education
Col. Katz holds a BA in Criminal Justice and a master’s degree in business leadership. He has also completed his doctoral coursework in Organizational Psychology. Col. Katz is a graduate of the FBI National Academy (Session 264), the FBI National Executive Institute (Session 45), the Southern Police Institute’s Command Officer’s Development Course (Session 35), and several advanced executive education programs on leadership and management through the University of Notre Dame and Harvard University. In June 2023, Col. Katz will participate in a fellowship for senior state and local executives at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He is an avid reader and lifelong learner.
In 2022, Col. Katz was elected President of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, where he has been a member of the Executive Board since 2020. Also, in 2022, Col. Katz was appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin to serve a four-year term on Virginia’s Criminal Justices Services Executive Board, where he works with an array of partners to develop policies, establish standards, and take action to promote a safer Virginia. Katz serves as the Chair of the Committee on Training, the Chair of the Chesterfield County Criminal Justice Board, the Central Virginia Narcotics Taskforce Chair, and the Chesterfield Police Athletic League board. He also serves as Secretary for the National Foundation for Public Safety Wellness. He is the designated Virginia CJIS Systems Officer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and volunteers as an advisor to the Reopen the Case Foundation. Col. Katz has served as a guest lecturer at the FBI National Academy for the last six years on topics pertaining to matters of leadership, communication, and professional development.
In his spare time, Col. Katz is passionate about rowing, running, rucking, and daily transcendental meditation. He is also known for his love of classic movies, including his favorite – The Princess Bride.