Travis Martinez is currently a deputy chief of police with the Redlands, California, Police Department. Throughout his 28 years of service, Deputy Chief Martinez has sought both innovative and affordable technological strategies to address crime trends occurring in the community. He and his team began deploying global positioning system (GPS) technology to apprehend individuals driving up the crime rates in Redlands. The strategy has been responsible for more than 350 arrests for crimes ranging from theft to armed robbery, and has been adopted by police departments across the United States. Deputy Chief Martinez has also worked with the community to introduce automated license plate readers (ALPR) while addressing privacy concerns related to the technology. As organized retail crime (ORC) began to flourish in California, Deputy Chief Martinez has married the two technologies (GPS and ALPR) to develop a strategy in which law enforcement agencies and retail businesses partner to hold those who commit ORC accountable for their crimes.

Deputy Chief Martinez has written several articles on both the GPS and ALPR technological strategies that have been published in law enforcement publications and has presented at local, state, and national conferences. He has received many honors throughout his career including being named the 2021 Southern California Robbery Investigator of the Year by the California Robbery Investigator’s Association. For his efforts in helping the community address crime trends, the Redlands Police Department received the RISE Award as the 2015 Law Enforcement Agency of the Year at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference. In addition, the California Organized Retail Crime Association honored Redlands Police Department in 2022 with the association’s Investigative Case of the Year based on technology that Deputy Chief Martinez implemented to address organized retail crime.