KGH Capability Statement
Jim McDonnellStrategic Advisor
- Jim McDonnell is a law enforcement and security professional with 40 years of experience. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Saint Anselm College, and also earn his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He started his career at the Los Angeles Police Department in where he held multiple titles of the years such as Chief of Detectives, Chief of Operations, Chief of Staff and Director of Human Resources, and First Assistant Chief of Police. After 29 years of working for the LAPD, he accepted the position of Chief of Police for the City of Long Beach, California. In this position he effectively decreased crime throughout the city. After four years as Chief of Police for Long Beach, he was offered the position of Sheriff for Los Angeles County, California where he served the community for another four years. Following this, he founded his own company, McDonnell Strategies Group, which provides expert consultation to corporate clients, from start-up companies to Fortune 500 multi-national corporations, on a wide variety of leadership, policing, and public safety issues.
- He has received numerous awards from a variety of associations, the most notable being his Medal of Valor from the Los Angeles Police Department. It is the LAPD’s highest award for bravery presented to him for saving “thirty people from a burning building and at least two from certain death.” Some of his other awards include the Anti-Defamation League’s Award for Service to the Community and to Combat Hatred, Bigotry & Bias, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST) Distinguished Leadership Award, the Los Angeles Business Journal’s “500 Most Influential People in Los Angeles for 2017”, the Los Angeles City Council’s “Visionary Leadership Award”, the Mexican American Bar Association PAC’s Courageous Leadership Award, the Black Peace Officers’ Association’s Leadership Award, the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives and the Los Angeles Women Police Officers & Associates Special Recognition Award, the Hispanic American Police Command Officers’ Association Leadership Award, the NAACP Award for Community Outreach & Safety, and the CPOA 2019 Professional of the Year Award.
- Mr. McDonnell has had additional opportunities during his career in law enforcement such as having a Cross Designation as Special Deputy-U.S. Marshal on an official FBI Task Force. He also testified before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations on the topic of “Challenges Facing Law Enforcement in the 21st Century” in May of 2017. HE was also selected to be a part of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and testified as the sole policing practitioner invited before the Task Force on “The Future of Community Policing”. He was also invited to attend the National Executive Session on Law Enforcement & Public Health: Inter-Disciplinary Strategies.
- Mr. McDonnell also has many professional appointments and affiliations such as the USC Price School of Public Policy Board of Councilors. In 2007 he was inducted as a committee member to the California Attorney General’s Criminal Justice Advisory Committee. In 2010, he was Appointed Commissioner of the Commission on Peace Officer Standards & Training by Governors Schwarzenegger and Brown where he held this title for six years, and the same year was also elected as President of the California Peace Officers’ Association. In 2012, he was appointed as Commissioner to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors’ Citizens’ Commission on Jail Violence. The following year, 2013, he was elected as President of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association. Then, in 2016, he was chosen to be a council member for the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association and was also chosen to be on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Most recently in 2017, he was elected as Vice President of the Major County Sheriffs of America.