The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 23, Number 5 | Page 19
Chief Jon Belmar
St. Louis County Police Department
Chief Jon Belmar was appointed to the position of Chief of Police on January 31, 2014 by the St. Louis
County Board of Police Commissioners. By County Charter, the Chief of Police is responsible for the law
enforcement duties of the Sheriff. St. Louis County is unique in the U.S., as it does not have an elected
sheriff. Chief Belmar has served the agency since 1986. The St. Louis County Police Department serves
a population of over one million and a geographical area of more than 500 square miles. Current agency
strength is nearly 1,100 and it has a budget of more than $113 million.
Chief Belmar began his career in the Affton Southwest Precinct in 1986 as a patrolman. He also served
in the South County Precinct and the Tactical Operations Unit before his promotion to Sergeant in 1995.
As a Sergeant he served in the West County Precinct as a watch supervisor until selected to run the Department’s Arson and
Explosives Unit in 1996. In 1998 he was promoted to Lieutenant and remained within the Division of Criminal Investigations as
the commander of the Bureau of Crimes Against Persons. He remained in that position until his promotion to Captain in 2004 at
which time he was assigned as the Commander of the Affton Southwest Precinct and later as a Captain in Special Operations. He
was promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel in July 2013 and assigned the position of Commanding Officer of the Division of Special
Operations.
Chief Belmar was appointed to the boards of Medal of Valor, S.T.A.A.R.S., and Backstoppers. He is also a member of the
International Association of Chiefs of Police, FBI National Academy Associates, N.O.B.L.E., National Tactical Officers Association,
and the NAACP.
Chief Belmar earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Arkansas State University, and attended the FBI’s Hazardous Device
School at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, where he was certified as a bomb technician in 1997. He attended the 228th Session of
the FBI National Academy in 2007, the 56th session of the Senior Management Institute for Police in 2014, and the 38th session
of the FBI National Executive Institute in 2015.
Chief Belmar has presented in front of the FBI National Academy, Police Executive Research Forum, and the Regional Business
Council, among others.
Chief Belmar was raised in North St. Louis County and currently resides in West St. Louis with his wife.
Michael Bret Hood
Special Agent, FBI (Ret.)
21st Century Learning & Consulting, LLC
Michael Bret Hood is a founding partner in 21st Century Learning & Consulting, LLC, a group that
offers leadership, implicit bias and financial crimes training, investigative consulting and expert
witness services. He is a master facilitator, human behavior and interpersonal communication
specialist with over 25 years experience and training through the premier law enforcement agency in
the world.
He served for 24 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was a 4 time winner of the Special Agent of the Year
Award, and recipient of multiple FBI Director commendations.
Currently, he is mentoring and coaching executives at the FBI’s Executive Development Institute, where he creates the vision and
strategy to lead major law enforcement executives in their attempts to adapt and transform their agencies to fit 21st century
models of policing.
Michael is also the author of the critically-acclaimed leadership book, Eat More Ice Cream! A Succinct Leadership Lesson for Each
Week of the Year.
18