Jerry A. Oliver Sr. became Richmond's 13th Chief of Police on May 1, 1995. The Chief holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration (Public Finance) and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice, both from Arizona State University. Jerry served his country in Vietnam aboard the US Navy's USS Ranger Aircraft Carrier in the enlisted ranks as a jet mechanic, and was honorably discharged in 1969. From 1970 through 1990 he rose through the ranks to become Assistant Chief of Police in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. He served briefly as the Director of Drug Policy in Memphis, Tennessee and upon leaving there, became Chief of Police in Pasadena, California in June of 1991.

Jerry Oliver was inducted into the Arizona State University College of Public Programs Distinguished Alumnus Hall of Fame. He is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute, has interned with the Washington D.C. based Police Foundation, and was one of the earliest members of the Police Executive Research Forum, where this year he was elected to the Board of Directors. He is Chairman of the Central Virginia Law Enforcement Chief's Executive Association. The Chief serves as the Chairman of the CEO Symposium for the National Organization for Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and is on the President's Community Policing Committee for the international Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). He is a graduate of the FBI's 21st National Executive Institute.

Other significant Board memberships are the Virginia Community Policing Institute Board of Directors, the National Criminal Justice Association, the George Mason University Administration of Justice Advisory Board, the Metropolitan YMCA, and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. He is an Archon in the Sigma Pi Phi Honor Society, and has been a Polemarch in the Kappa Alpha Phi Fraternity. The Chief is one of the originators of Richmond's Project Exile, a nationally acclaimed program that targets gun and drug violence.

Recent awards include:

• IACP Motorola Webber Seavy Award for Policing Excellence - 2001
• The U.S. Attorney General's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Community Partnership for Public Safety - 2000
• Law Enforcement News' 1999 people of the Year Award
• Richmond Style Magazine's 1999 "Richmonder of the Year"
• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement's prestigious "1999 President's Award" for professional excellence
• Richmond City Manager selected the Chief as recipient of the 1996-97 "Administrator of the Year" Award
• Medal of Meritorious Service for his innovative leadership of the Richmond Police Department
• NAACP Image Award in 1994 for outstanding service to the community of Pasadena, California through public safety efforts