LAKEWOOD, Colo. — A new director will take over leading the Colorado Bureau of Investigation on Feb. 3.
In December, Stan Hilkey, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS), announced that he had selected Chris Schaefer as CBI's next director. Schaefer is currently the deputy director of CBI’s Investigation section.
The current CBI director, John Camper, is retiring after more than 40 years in law enforcement.
“It is an absolute privilege to have been selected to serve as the director of an organization that has been my home for my entire career," Schaefer said. "I look forward to continuing to represent the CBI in this new capacity, and to work with our law enforcement partners across the state to assist with their investigative needs."
Schaefer, who will become the 10th CBI director since its creation in 1967, has spent his entire career with CDPS.
He joined Colorado State Patrol in 1995 and moved to CBI in 2004. Throughout his 27-year law enforcement career, he held several leadership roles.
In addition, Schaefer is the president of the International Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association and serves as an agent in charge in CBI's support services section, where he helps coordinate the biometrics identification records unit, according to CBI.
“An outstanding field of candidates interviewed for this important position, but Chris relayed an exceptional vision for the Bureau and commitment to collaboration with our partners and the members of the CBI,” Hilkey said. “Chris is an outstanding leader, and is the right person to guide the CBI through its current expansion of more than 100 positions over the next three years. His strength in building relationships, his extensive investigative experience, and his problem solving background will serve the Bureau and state extremely well in the coming months and years.”
Schaefer was selected after a "robust and competitive search followed by panel interviews with CDPS leadership, CBI staff, and statewide and federal partners," according to CBI.
Camper, the current director, has been in the position for five years. Before that, he served for eight years as the chief of police for the Grand Junction Police Department and 29 years with the Lakewood Police Department.
“I am honored to call John Camper not only a colleague, but also a friend,” Hilkey said. “I have trusted his opinion and relied heavily on his counsel for many years, as his integrity and commitment to doing the right thing are paramount to his character. Upon his retirement from law enforcement, we celebrate a remarkable career filled with outstanding accomplishments. John is an unprecedented leader committed to enhancing the law enforcement profession, and he will be greatly missed.”
Camper and Schaefer will have an overlap transition period ahead of Feb. 3.
