John Harrington, former commissioner of public safety for the State of Minnesota and former chief of police for the City of St. Paul, has been elected to the board of the Caux Round Table.
As issues of moral government come more and more to the fore in our global community, John brings special insights to the work of the Caux Round Table in implementing its Principles for Government. A fundamental duty of any government is to provide personal and community security with justice for the well-being of those it serves.
We need to ask, “Can there be moral capitalism where public governance is immoral?”
The institutional challenge in achieving and sustaining moral governance is: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? – “Who will guard the guardians?”
John graduated from Dartmouth College with a bachelor of arts in religion and a minor in Chinese/Far Eastern studies. He also received an MA in public safety from the University of St. Thomas and is now completing the doctoral program in criminal justice administration at Walden University.
His publications are: In Their Own Words: Why Kids Join Gangs – A Report to the MN Legislature, 1998; Partnerships for Public Safety; Minnesota Police Chief, 2007; Eyewitness Identification Protocol Reform; The Police Chief, 2009; Above and Beyond the Call of Duty, 2015; Minnesota to Mogadishu; Minnesota Police Chief, 2016.
John has been an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s University and St. Thomas University teaching community policing, gangs and juvenile delinquency, 21st century policing, diversity and policing, public policy and training. He was also an assistant professor/community faculty and project director at the School of Law Enforcement at Metropolitan State University from 1985 to 2014.
Internationally, John twice traveled to Mogadishu, Somalia, to consult and teach with the Somali Police Force on community policing and has completed two supply campaigns for the Somali Police Force, including delivery of emergency medical supplies and an ambulance.
In 2011, John cofounded Ujamaa Place, a non-profit organization in St. Paul, with the mission to transform the lives of young African American men who have been incarcerated or in gangs, serving as the chair of the board and interim executive director. Ujamaa Place has worked with over 5,000 men, with only five returning to incarceration.
John has been sought out for his community leadership:
· Member of the Minnesota Senate
· Co-founder of the Asian American Police Officer Association
· Co-founder of Hand and Hand Inc.
· Justice Research Center
· National Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE)
· Treasurer of Northstar NOBLE
· Police Executive Research Forum
· Somali Police Officer Association
· Board member of St. Paul Intervention Project
· Board member of Alina Hospital Foundation
· Board member of Battered Women’s Justice Project
· Board member of Circus Juventus
· Board member of Interfaith Action
John was also chief of police of the Metropolitan Transit Police Department in Minnesota from 2012 to 2018.
During his tenure as chief of police in St. Paul, the city saw violent crime drop yearly, with gang and domestic homicides reduced by 50-90%. Several innovative initiatives were created, including:
· St. Paul Domestic Violence and Intervention Project
· Operation Shamrock
· St. Paul Police Foundation
· 2008 Republican National Convention – oversaw and managed security for the event
· St. Paul Police Department Gang Unit
· Safe City Initiative
· Department diversity – offered the first Hmong Citizen Police Academy in the U.S.
We are looking forward to getting his wise counsel as a new member of the board.