JAMES F. ‘Jimmy’ ALBRECHT

James F. Albrecht started his law enforcement career as an Auxiliary (volunteer) Police Officer in the New York City Police Department, where he served three years in the 112th Precinct. Jim is a 20-year veteran of the NYPD who retired as the Commanding Officer of NYPD Transit Bureau District 20, responsible for the supervision and deployment of over 300 police officers tasked with the prevention of crime and terrorism in the subway and rapid transit system in the borough of Queens, New York City. Captain Albrecht was a first responder and incident command staff member at the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the incident commander at the November 12, 2001 commercial airliner accident in Queens, NYC. Captain Albrecht has extensive law enforcement experience in the NYPD, having served as patrol officer, community policing beat officer, Police Academy criminal law instructor, firearms investigator, sergeant patrol supervisor, press information officer, community policing unit commander, supervisory research analyst for the Police Commissioner, lieutenant platoon commander, special operations lieutenant, lieutenant detective commander of internal civil rights violation investigations, executive officer (deputy precinct commander), and duty captain (designated critical and emergency incident commander). Captain Albrecht served on NYPD Police Commissioner Bratton’s Reengineering Committees from 1994 through 1995 and from 2014 through 2015. Jimmy concluded his policing career while serving in the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) in Kosovo (former Yugoslavia) as the Police Chief of the EULEX Police Executive Department, in charge of criminal investigations and tasked with coordinating international law enforcement cooperation and intelligence analysis from 2008 through 2010.

Police Chief Albrecht possesses extensive experience in the multifaceted challenges related to traffic safety and enforcement and has been involved in these endeavors across different ranks. Initially as a patrol officer involved in local traffic enforcement, Jimmy was selected for the first team of NYPD Community Policing Orientation Program officers and was instrumental as a local foot patrol beat cop in documenting and analyzing neighborhood concerns about traffic safety and conveying them to the New York City Department of Transportation for remedy, which often involved the strategic placement of traffic control signage and equipment at intersections and in the vicinity of schools and site-specific traffic enforcement. In addition, traffic safety presentations were conducted and related educational handouts were regularly distributed at neighborhood meetings and schools. Later as a community policing unit commander, Jimmy supervised and directed these initiatives across an entire police jurisdiction (NYPD Precinct). He was instrumental in developing all the preliminary and ongoing strategies after the introduction of the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law that mandated seat belt usage for all passengers, which included the distribution of relevant educational handouts and verbal warnings at regular vehicle safety checkpoints, before commencing enforcement activities. Finally, as the commander and deputy commander of numerous police stations, Jimmy was responsible for not only crime analysis using the CompStat model, but also the comprehensive investigation of all vehicle accidents in order to identify accident prone locations and trends in vehicular injuries and deaths using the NYPD TrafficStat program. Initiatives to enhance traffic safety included educational, engineering (in collaboration with the New York City Department of Transportation) and enforcement options. Multi-agency vehicular safety checkpoints were routinely conducted to emphasize the relevance of traffic safety for not only vehicle drivers, but for pedestrians and bicycle operators. Jimmy noted the relevance of using enforcement as a last resort to enhance traffic safety, as less intrusive options often proved to be just as effective.

James Albrecht possesses separate Bachelor’s Degrees in Biology and German Language; and separate Master’s Degrees in Criminal Justice; Human Physiology; and History. Jimmy has completed his doctoral studies in Criminal Justice at the University of New Haven. James Albrecht is the recipient of a 2013 Embassy Policy Specialist Fellowship (USDOS/IREX) and was tasked with conducting research and making recommendations to improve law enforcement effectiveness and legitimacy in Ukraine.

James Albrecht is presently a Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security at Pace University in New York. James Albrecht received a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship in 1998 and worked as a Professor at the National Police College of Finland, and is considered an authority in: Police Use of Force; Community/Zero Tolerance Policing initiatives; Police Response to Terrorism; Emergency Incident Planning and Management; Traffic Safety and Enforcement; Democratic Policing; Law Enforcement Leadership Practices; Corruption Control; Developing Police Volunteer Programs; and other international criminal justice and law enforcement issues. Professor Albrecht has lectured at police facilities and universities in China, Russia, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Canada, Dubai, Kosovo, Macedonia, Malta, Ukraine, Trinidad & Tobago, South Africa, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and throughout the USA; and serves as a consultant to the United Nations, the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Department of State, the US Department of Justice, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs Association, and the National Institute of Justice on terrorism and policing matters.

James Albrecht is the author and editor of numerous books: “Effective Crime Reduction Strategies: International Perspectives;” “Policing Major Events: Perspective from Across the World;” “Police Reserves and Volunteers: Enhancing Police Effectiveness and Public Trust,” “Police Brutality, Misconduct and Corruption: Criminological Explanations and Policy Implications,” “Policing and Minority Communities: Current Issues and Global Perspectives,” “Effective Police Service Delivery: Contemporary Issues and Global Perspectives,” “Police and International Peacekeeping Missions,” “Understanding and Preventing Community Violence,” “Police Use of Force: Global Perspectives and Policy Implications.” and the soon to be published “The History of Law and Civilization.” Professor Albrecht has many additional published works dealing with law enforcement, community policing, legal history, corruption control, crime reduction strategies, justice-related gender issues, criminology, and international terrorism/counter-terrorism.