Warren J. Riley was appointed Interim Superintendent of Police on September 27, 2005, 28 days after Hurricane Katrina. He was officially sworn in as Superintendent of Police on November 28, 2005. Riley is a 27 year veteran of the New Orleans Police Department.
Prior to his appointment as Superintendent, he served as the Assistant Superintendent or the number two position in the Department as the Chief Operations Officer, where he commanded all field and investigative units in the New Orleans Police Department, comprised of 17 divisions and over 2100 commissioned and civilian members. Prior to becoming the Chief Operations Officer, Riley was appointed as a Deputy Chief, in command of the Policy, Planning and Training Bureau.
As a Captain of Police, Riley commanded the 5th Police District, which included the Lower 9th Ward and the largest concentration of low-income residents in the City of New Orleans. He successfully reduced the homicide rate in that area by nine percent.
While a Lieutenant, he served as the commander of the Information Systems and Services Division. Riley also served as the Executive Assistant to the commander of the 6th Police District. He commanded the Department’s Community Oriented Policing Squad (COPS), which contained public housing developments that historically had high crime rates. Riley successfully reduced violent crime in those areas by 23%.
As a Sergeant, he was a platoon commander in the 5th Police District and later became a Special Investigator in the Internal Affairs Division.
As a Patrolman, Riley worked in the 6th Police District and as an undercover detective in the Vice Crimes and Major Case Narcotics Sections of the Special Investigations Division.
The New Orleans Police Department has acquired state of the art policing equipment and vehicles under Riley’s leadership. He assisted in the revitalization of Police Headquarters and district police stations that had been devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Riley has also overseen the largest budget and the largest recruit class in the history of the New Orleans Police Department.
Superintendent Riley holds a Masters of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice from Southern University of New Orleans, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Southern University of New Orleans and an Associate of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice from Delgado College of New Orleans. He currently serves as an adjunct professor at Southern University of New Orleans and previously served as an adjunct professor at Delgado College and Concordia College.
Superintendent Riley attended the Senior Management Institute for Police Executives in Boston. He is a graduate of the FBI’s National Executive Institute. Superintendent Riley studied transnational crimes and terrorism in Oslo, Norway. He has obtained training in Advanced Police Administration, Criminal Justice Administration, Criminal Justice Human Resource Management, Statistics, Legal Ethics in Law Enforcement and Community Policing.
Superintendent Riley is involved in many professional organizations and community groups such as: the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), Criminal Justice Advisor to the Louisiana University Violence Intervention Team and Vice President of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). He also serves on several boards, including the State of Louisiana Drug Policy Board, Orleans Parish Communications District Board, Bishop Perry School and the United Way.