Throughout his policing career, DEPUTY CHIEF JOE ADAMS has been instrumental in the development of several initiatives within the Roseville Police Department. As an officer, he helped to create the agency’s Law Enforcement Explorer post, while also serving as a youth mentor. As a deputy chief with a vision of improving the communication between the community and his police department, he helped establish the Community Action Team. The team’s mission is to work in partnership with the community to find solutions to problems affecting the quality of life in the community. He has also devoted his time to understanding the pillars and recommendations from the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. As a result, he implemented an officer wellness program that includes physical, mental, and financial wellness, as well as mandated mental health checks.

In 2019, Deputy Chief Adams helped to establish a lateral hiring process, which offered signing bonuses and front-loaded sick and vacation time for qualified candidates. This process was the first of its kind in the state of Minnesota and has since been used as a model by several other agencies throughout the state. He also served in the department’s training unit, expanding training with focus on de-escalation and critical incidents. As a forward-thinking officer and now the deputy chief, he has received several awards crossing jurisdictional boundaries. However, the most humbling of the awards came from nominations by his fellow officers, which include the Police Medal of Honor, the Medal of Valor, the Award of Merit, and 19 unit citations.

“Working with my peers and community partners to innovate, create change, and help others is an honor.”