[September 19, 2014]

Statement by John Raisian, Director of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University

It is with profound sadness that we learned of the passing of our colleague, Joe McNamara, who lost his battle with cancer this morning.

Joe was a rare person: a man who not only served as a revered police chief, but who had uncommon insights. He was known by his colleagues for his tireless public service and deep commitment to promote ideas that contributed to positive solutions pertaining to law enforcement. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Laurie, and his children.

Biographical Information:

McNamara has been a research fellow with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University since May of 1991. A retired police chief of San Jose, CA (News - Alert) his career in law enforcement spanned a thirty-five year period beginning as a beat patrolman for the New York CityPolice Department (NYPD). He is the only police chief in the United States to hold a P.h. D from Harvard University.

He rose through the ranks of law enforcement and in midcareer was appointed a criminal justice fellow at Harvard Law School, focusing on criminal justice research. Following this appointment he received two Littauer Fellowships from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, obtaining a doctorate in public administration. Returning to duty with the NYPD, he was appointed deputy inspector in charge of crime analysis for New York City. In 1973, McNamara became police chief of Kansas City, Missouri, leading that department into groundbreaking research and innovative programs. In 1976, he was appointed police chief for the city of San Jose, where he remained until his retirement in 1991. During his tenure, San Jose became the safest large city in the country, despite having the fewest police per capita.

McNamara served as a professor at five different colleges and lectured at many of the nation's top universities, including Harvard, Stanford, and the University of California at Berkeley. In 1980, he was appointed by the US attorney general to the advisory board of the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

McNamara is also a best selling author of three detective novels and a respected crime prevention text. An authority on police use of force and other issues, he has appeared on numerous news programs, and published articles in national and scholarly publications.

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