Kreins Consulting
5502 Lynbrook Court
Concord, CA 94521
(707) 333-6858
Joseph Kreins, is a retired chief of police and currently works as a public safety consultant with over 40 years of public safety and law enforcement experience. Chief Kreins expertise includes the full range of policing disciplines based on experience in several small and medium sized law enforcement agencies. As a consultant, Chief Kreins provides expert advice and guidance on best practices in policing, strategic planning, succession planning, leadership development, organizational assessments, recruitment and promotional processes, organization and command structures, municipal services including city management, community and media relations, and crisis communications.
Over the past several years, Chief Kreins has facilitated numerous POST Team Building Workshops for law enforcement agencies throughout California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, North Bay Area, Central Valley, and Southern California.
Chief Kreins is a subject matter expert in managing transitions in law enforcement agencies. He was an outside candidate when he was selected as the Chief of Police in the Sausalito, Novato, and Vallejo Police Departments. Chief Kreins was able to stabilize each agency, implement new policies and procedures, implement new training initiatives, develop strategic plans, build cohesive teams, and enhance the morale and professionalism of each agency. In his capacity as the Interim Chief of Police in several police departments, Chief Kreins facilitated the recruitments of the next Chief of Police and provided expertise in building a solid foundation and paving the way for a seamless transition of executive leadership.
In 2012, Chief Kreins was recruited to serve as chief of police for the City of Vallejo, a community of 120,000. He provided leadership in Vallejo during a critical period following that city’s emergence from bankruptcy. During that time, the organization was in structural chaos due to years of financial neglect. Additionally, police staffing levels were significantly reduced due to the ongoing financial challenges and there were serious concerns about crime in Vallejo. During his tenure in Vallejo, the Department successfully reduced crime across all categories, enhanced community trust and relationships, and implemented recruitment plans that significantly began to restore police staffing.
Chief Kreins has served as the interim chief of police (2014-2021) in the cities of Vallejo, Benicia, winters, Novato, Clayton, and Suisun City. He has also served as a special advisor and public safety consultant to the CEO of the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART). Additionally, he has served as consultant to numerous cities and law enforcement agencies throughout the state of California, completing management team building, strategic planning and an organizational audits of several departments. Chief Kreins has also completed comprehensive organizational assessments of Police Departments throughout California.
Chief Kreins holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Golden Gate University, and he has completed graduate course work in crisis communications, media relations, disaster preparedness and risk management. He is a graduate of the Concord Chamber of Commerce Leadership Diablo Program. Chief Kreins is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), has served on the board of directors for the California Police Chiefs Association (CPCA), and was president of the Solano County Law Enforcement Administrators Association, and the Marin County Police Chiefs Association. He is a member of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and California Peace Officers Association (CPOA). He also served on the board of directors of the Marin Emergency Radio Authority (MERA).