Attorney General Bill Lockyer Names Two Police Chiefs to Leadership Positions at The Division of Law Enforcement

Thursday, January 7, 1999
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

(Sacramento)–Attorney General Bill Lockyer today selected La Habra Police Chief Steven H. Staveley as Director for the Division of Law Enforcement. Lockyer also named Merced Police Chief Patrick N. Lunney as Deputy Director for the Division of Law Enforcement.

"The new leadership team at the division will be responsible for designing the best law enforcement systems in the world," Lockyer said. "Steve Staveley is one of California's most highly respected law enforcement officials with the skills and talent necessary to lead the state's crime fighting programs into the next century. As deputy director, Pat Lunney brings a strong law enforcement background that will prove invaluable to the division's drug enforcement and crime lab programs. The fact that both of these individuals have served as rank and file officers as well as in management, and, have strong ties to the Central Valley as well as to southern and northern California bodes well for the future of the division."

Steve Staveley has been La Habra's Police Chief for the past nine years and he is currently a member of the Magnolia Elementary School Board in Orange County. Staveley has spent his entire 30-year career in law enforcement. Prior to moving to La Habra, Staveley served as Chief of Police for the City of Belmont in the San Francisco/Bay Area. As La Habra's Police Chief, Staveley developed numerous innovative crime fighting programs emphasizing community-based policing, gang violence suppression, drunk driving abatement and improved technological services. Staveley's commitment to crime prevention, in addition to strong enforcement, is reflected in his service to children as a school board member.

"I am excited to join Attorney General Lockyer's team," Staveley said. "This is a major position in the premier law enforcement agency in the country. It would have taken the perfect job for me to leave La Habra, and the opportunity to work with Bill Lockyer as Director of the Division of Law Enforcement is it."

As the Director of the Division of Law Enforcement, Staveley will manage more than 1,000 employees and will serve as the Attorney General's primary representative to law enforcement organizations and officials throughout California and the country. The division manages the state's crime labs, investigation services, and drug enforcement programs as well as develops statewide criminal enforcement and prevention strategies.

Patrick Lunney has been the Chief of Police for the City of Merced for the past 15 years. During Chief Lunney's tenure, the Merced Police Department has earned numerous awards and commendations for creative and effective crime fighting programs. Lunney has also served as Chairman of the California Police Chiefs Association Standards and Ethics Committee for the past three years and as Chairman of the Merced-Mariposa Narcotics Task Force Council from 1987 to 1993.

"I am honored to have been asked to join Attorney General Lockyer's law enforcement team," said Lunney. "I look forward to a new level of challenges and believe the new director and I can provide the law enforcement leadership that will guide California law enforcement into the next century."

Staveley, 54, and Lunney, 50, will take office on February 1, 1999.

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