Chief of Police

Chief Anthony Conrad was appointed as Interim Chief of Police for the Murrieta Police Department on December 30th, 2020. In March of 2021, City Manager Kim Summers swore in Chief Conrad as the department’s 7th Chief of Police since it was established in 1992.

Chief Conrad began his law enforcement career in 1995 as a sworn police officer with the San Diego Police Department. During his 8 years with San Diego, he worked at two of the department’s most active divisions and served as a Field Training Officer and a member of their SWAT team.

In 2003, Chief Conrad was hired by the Murrieta Police Department and became the department’s 44th officer hired since inception. During his 19 years with Murrieta, Chief Conrad has been fortunate to have worked in a variety of assignments including patrol operations, investigations, narcotics and administration. He served 7 years as Commander for the Murrieta SWAT team and was working as the department’s Operations Captain at the time of his appointment to Chief.

Chief Conrad graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business in 1995. He holds a Master’s Degree from Azusa Pacific University in Organizational Leadership (2006) and attended the Senior Management Institute for Police at Boston University in 2017. Chief Conrad and his wife Dana have lived in the Murrieta / Temecula Valley for the past 26 years and his wife has worked as a teacher for the Murrieta Valley School District for the last 20 years.

In 2021, Chief Conrad led the department through a new partnership with the Menifee Police Department. As a result, Murrieta’s Communication Center now dispatches all radio calls for the newly formed Menifee Police Department and continues to dispatch for Murrieta Fire and Rescue and the Murrieta Police Department. Thirty five (35) of the most talented and dedicated dispatchers in the industry work at Murrieta to deliver excellent police, fire and emergency medical dispatching services to approximately 220,000 residents. It is estimated the Communications Center personnel at Murrieta process over 330,000 tasks yearly.

Under Chief Conrad’s leadership, the Murrieta Police Department has adopted cutting edge technology based software in the Communications Center to better connect with residents, including automated license plate reader cameras to benefit patrol operations and help solve crimes. Body worn cameras, use of force review software, daily policy training bulletins and an in-house training unit with the police department’s subject matter experts were launched during 2020 and 2021. Chief Conrad’s primary goals for the department are:

- Preserve the culture of pro-active police work and high level of service delivery established by the department founders in 1992.

- Continue to nurture the department’s excellent partnership with the community through programs like the Citizens Academy and the department’s robust social media following.

- Build trust and legitimacy with those we serve through continued transparency.

- Prepare and support Murrieta Police Officers and staff for the future of policing through the best training available, formal education and wellness programs.

- Continue the strong hiring practices for all new employees, including lateral recruitments and in house selections for police officer.

Chief Conrad believes strongly in a collaborative approach to law enforcement and works with all the stakeholders in the community, both internal and external. He believes the Police Chief’s primary mission is keeping the community safe while building trust and confidence with the residents and business owners through a sound community/police partnership model. Chief Conrad is an advocate for victim’s rights and believes the role of law enforcement is to enforce the rule of law. The Murrieta Police Department remains a pro-active police department that prides itself on delivering the best service possible every day.