BCC's Department of Safety and Security in Conjunction with the Criminal Justice Department is hosting a special Q & A forum with Dr. John M. Weinstein on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Join us for two opportunities to hear from Dr. Weinstein, a veteran Virginia law enforcement officer.
During the forum, Dr. Weinstein will talk about the future of law enforcement and address the following:
- Identify emerging trends, such as accelerating immigration, technology and AI
- Discuss their implications for law enforcement (e.g., recruitment, regionalization)
- Explain obstacles to implementing innovative changes
Later that evening (5 p.m.) in BCC Room K-111, we will have a keynote address discussing situational awareness in teaching people to say something when they see something. RSVP to attend.
Biography: Dr. John Weinstein is veteran Virginia law enforcement officer and a certified instructor for firearms, active incident response, Crisis Intervention Team, and conflict avoidance and de-escalation. He currently serves as a deputy sheriff and directs firearms training at a police academy with over 70 jurisdictions as members. He has also served as police district commander and commander of strategic planning and outreach at one of the United States' largest institutions of higher education. Before becoming a college police officer, he served as the Chief of Police, a town sergeant, a patrol officer and a deputy sheriff. He is widely published, with more than 35 articles, on numerous police operational and administrative matters and serves on both the advisory the editorial boards of Campus Safety magazine, the principal publication covering campus and institutional safety and security.
Dr. Weinstein also enjoyed a long and successful career in the US Department of Defense. He was Chief of Assessments at the interagency US Nuclear Command and Control System (NCCS) Support Staff (NSS), and was involved in most aspects of nuclear weapons policy, planning, assessment, and command and control for over 30 years. He authored 17 NSS Annual Reports on the status of U.S. nuclear command and control (NC2) to the Secretary of Defense and the President from 1988 – 2005. Dr. Weinstein was also the principal author of two independent intergovernmental NC2 assessments and drafted Presidential policy on the same topic.
Prior to joining the NSS, Dr. Weinstein served as the Army Chief of Staff's strategic nuclear weapons advisor and Special Assistant for Requirements and Capabilities for the Navy’s Director, Strategic and Theater Nuclear Warfare. He was also a US adjunct arms control inspector, monitoring treaty compliance in the Soviet Union.
After earning a Ph. D. in International Politics at the University of Florida in 1978, he held faculty teaching and research positions at five universities. His military education, covering all aspects of command and control and nuclear weapons operations and characteristics, is extensive. He has written more than 30 essays in books and journals on U.S. and Soviet/Russian military nuclear plans and capabilities. He also co-edited The Defense of the West: Strategic and European Security Issues Re-appraised.
His awards include the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service (with three Oak Leaf Clusters); a Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service; the Department of Army Decoration for Meritorious Civilian Service; and two US Army War College awards for outstanding faculty publications.
In his spare time, Dr. Weinstein is an amateur radio operator and avid cross-county motorcyclist. He contributed regularly to several national motorcycle magazines and is the Secretary of the seven-state Mason-Dixon Conference of the Blue Knights, a law enforcement motorcycle club.