Chief of Personnel Rafael Pineiro was appointed to the New York City Police Department in June 1970.  Graduating at the top of his Police Academy class, he received the Chief of Personnel award for the highest combined academic and physical fitness scores.  He began his career in the 88th Precinct, and was promoted to Sergeant in July 1981; Lieutenant in May 1984; Captain in January 1988; Deputy Inspector in November 1989; Inspector in October 1990; Deputy Chief in September 1991; and Assistant Chief in February 1994.  He has served in the 24, 41, and 72 Precincts, as well as the Tactical Patrol Force, Patrol Borough Bronx, the Legal Division, Office of the Police Commissioner, Criminal Justice Bureau, Housing Bureau, Management Information Systems Division, and the Recruitment and Retention Unit.

    Chief of Personnel Pineiro, who earned a Police Combat Cross, the Department's second highest award for valor, after confronting a shotgun-toting suspect who had robbed a bodega on Manhattan's Upper West Side, has served as the Commanding Officer of the 41 Precinct, Office of the Police Commissioner, Patrol Borough Bronx, MISD, and the Recruitment and Retention Unit.  He has also served as the Executive Officer of the Housing Bureau.

      Chief of Personnel Pineiro earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Behavioral Science from the New York Institute of Technology, a Master's Degree in Management from NYU's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, and a Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School.  He is licensed to practice law in the New York State courts, as well as in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York Federal courts.  In 1995, he attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard as a recipient of a John B. Pickett Fellowship.  The program, designed for Senior Executives in state and local government, focused on such areas as organizational strategy, political management, policy development, conflict management, management control and operations, and the management of human resources.  He is also a graduate of the original class of the Police Management Institute at Columbia University.

    In July 1995, Chief of Personnel Pineiro founded and served as Chairman of the National Law Enforcement Explorer Academy.  This institution, which operates under the auspices of the Greater New York Councils Exploring Division, is compromised of youngsters between the ages of 14 through 20.  It fundamentally serves as a leadership and team developing skills forum.  Instructors from the Police Academy, members of the Secret Service, Customs, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the FBI provide the youth with a two week period of instruction into the functions and responsibilities of the various agencies.

** FROM THE SEVENTH ANNUAL DINNER DANCE JOURNAL. **