Chris Catren was selected as the chief of police for the City of Redlands, California on December 20, 2017. He leads a progressive group of 91 sworn officers, 47 full-time and 12 part-time professional staff, and nearly 50 volunteers. The Redlands Police Department (RPD) serves approximately 70,000 residents across nearly 40 square miles. The department is a full-service, municipal police department comprised of teams that perform functions such as patrol, investigations, communications, traffic, K-9, SWAT, and multiple enforcement and community policing activities.

The RPD has a history of utilizing technology to improve its delivery of services to the community. Chief Catren began his career in law enforcement in 1994 with the RPD as its first crime analyst. In this role, he quickly learned the value of transforming data into information to further the department’s prevention, intervention, and suppression activities.

In 1996, Chief Catren became a sworn police officer and worked his way through the ranks to include assignments as an investigator, training officer, field supervisor, detective, and sergeant. His supervisory positions included investigations, patrol, field training coordinator, and reserve police officer coordinator.

In 2007, Chief Catren was promoted to lieutenant and managed the Investigative Services Bureau, the Patrol Services Bureau, and the Special Operations Bureau during his tenure. He was promoted to commander in 2013 and oversaw each of the department’s divisions before promoting to the position of chief of police.

Chief Catren possesses a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Public Administration from California State University, San Bernardino. He graduated from the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Command College in 2012. Chief Catren is the president of the California Police Chiefs Association, past President of the San Bernardino County Police Chiefs’ Association, and a past member of the California League Cities Board of Directors Association.