WPD POLICE SYMPOSIUM

Chief Jason Potts

Las Vegas Department of Public Safety

Jason Potts was sworn in on July 11, 2022, as the sixth chief for the City of Las Vegas Department of Public Safety. He leads a department dedicated to providing law enforcement and detention services, managing the city jail, and overseeing the deputy city marshals who ensure public safety at city parks, trails and washes, tourist corridors, and city facilities. The department also includes animal protection services. https://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/Government/Departments/Public-Safety/About-The-Department

Potts brings over 27 years of law enforcement experience to his role as Chief/Director. He began his municipal policing career with the Vallejo Police Department in Northern California, where he rose to the rank of captain. His leadership extended over the Operations Bureau, Investigations Bureau, and Emergency Services Unit. Throughout his career in Vallejo, Potts served in a variety of roles, including patrol, crime suppression, major case section, narcotics, investigations, SWAT, SWAT Commander, field training, field training manager, internal affairs, and task forces such as the FBI’s Solano County Violent Gang Task Force and the Oakland Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force. He also continues to serve as a military reserve special agent with the Coast Guard Investigative Service and has been with CGIS for over 15 years.

Jason Potts holds a master’s degree in Criminology, Law, and Society from the University of California, Irvine. He is an alumnus of the National Institute of Justice’s Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Program through the U.S. Department of Justice. Before joining the Vallejo Police Department, he worked for almost 3 years with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as a Border Patrol Agent assigned to the Calexico Station.

A champion of evidence-based policing, Potts is honored to serve as President of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing. He is a member of the Council on Criminal Justice’s Violent Crime Working Group, the Futures Policing Institute, and is a National Policing Institute fellow. He has been an advocate for officer safety and wellness, data-driven patrol strategies, community engagement, practitioner-led research, and the integration/implementation of innovative practices and technology. In June 2019, he was honored at George Mason University’s Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame for his impactful work in promoting and implementing evidence-based practices both nationally and within his department.