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Commander Joan T. McNamara joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1982 after graduating from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in criminology and sociology. She has spent the past twenty-five years rising through the ranks of the Los Angles Police Department working a cross-section of Operational, Investigative, Administrative and Command assignments. Her unique background and experience exposed her to several opportunities to work with local, regional and Federal partners.
Commander McNamara was named Commanding Officer of Newton Patrol Division in 2004, where she subsequently led the Division to an unprecedented reduction in crime. She was also the architect behind a project which resulted in breakthrough civil litigation and a revolutionary new method in crime fighting and public service: the closure of three multi-story apartment buildings at 69th and Main Streets which had served for over 20 years as the 69 East Coast Crip gang headquarters and was nicknamed the “killing fields.” This project highlighted the capabilities of partners such as the City and District Attorney’s Offices, the United States Attorney’s office, the FBI, and ATF. The 69th and Main Project was later recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police as a finalist for the prestigious Weber Seavey Award.
Commander McNamara was promoted in 2005 to the Commanding Officer of Harbor Area. Taking her previous successes to a new level, she spearheaded unique efforts in the Wilmington “Ghost Town” area, a three decade violent crime/gang and narcotics problem neighborhood. This multi-agency cooperative effort led to the actual restoration of a neighborhood, placing ownership of the streets and community back in the hands of the citizens. In addition, she initiated several community based programs focusing on youth which proved to be widely successful.
After promoting to Commander, Commander McNamara had the opportunity to apply those skills to her current assignment as the Assistant Commanding Officer of the Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Bureau. In this post, she has been making positive strides in the area of Intelligence-Led Policing, developing the THREATSTAT analytical model, as well as a system of Suspicious Activity Reporting which has been recognized as a potential national model for terrorism reporting at the local law enforcement level.
Commander McNamara is a graduate of the West Point Leadership Institute, the Senior Management Institute for Policing and the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, Session 211. She is involved in several law enforcement and community organizations and resides in the Los Angeles Area with her husband, Bill.
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