Chief Scott R. Seaman (Ret.)

Scott R. Seaman retired as Chief of the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno (CA) Police Department on August 1, 2014, after having served as chief since 2002. During his 37-year law enforcement career, he served 27 years with the San Jose (CA) Police Department, retiring in 2002 as a captain after working in a wide variety of assignments from special operations/patrol to investigations to community services and research and development.

Under Chief Seaman’s leadership, the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno (CA) Police Department has focused on building a highly competent, professional police department providing traditional law enforcement services, building community relationships, and engaging in community problem solving. The department’s “larger-than-life” goal is to know everyone in the community. A key area of Chief Seaman’s emphasis is engagement with youth and reducing youth high-risk activities. The department has received several state and international awards for community policing and investigative excellence.

Chief Seaman holds a BA in criminology from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MA in management from Cal Poly Pomona. He is a graduate of the 207^th FBI National Academy and of the California POST Command College, where he studied the use of creative planning and evaluative models to address gang violence.

Chief Seaman served on the expert panel evaluating the 1994 US DOJ COPS Office Advancing Community Policing grant program and is a contributing author to the 2003 publication, Community Policing in Action: A Practitioner’s Eye View of Organizational Change. He serves as an expert witness consultant in police procedures and use of force in state and federal court.

Chief Seaman is the immediate past president of the California Police Chiefs Association, 2012-2013. He is the recipient of the 2013 Fight Crime/Invest in Kids Crime Fighter of the Year award.

Chief Seaman can be reached directly at: sseaman@policefoundation.org