Harry Dolan

Harry P. Dolan is a 32-year police veteran who served as a Chief of Police since 1987. As one of the nation’s most experienced police chiefs, he brings 25 years of public safety executive experience to his new training and consulting company based in North Carolina. He retired in October 2012 as Chief of the Raleigh Police Department, an agency comprised of nearly 900 employees in America’s 42nd largest city.

Chief Dolan began his law enforcement career in 1980 as a deputy sheriff in Asheville, North Carolina, and served there until early 1982, when he joined Raleigh PD. In 1987, he was appointed Chief of Police for the North Carolina Department of Human Resources Police Department, located in Black Mountain. He served as Chief of Police in Lumberton, North Carolina from 1992 until 1998, when he became Chief of Police in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Chief Dolan led the Grand Rapids Police Department for nearly 10 years before returning to Raleigh in September 2007 to serve as its top law enforcement officer. After retiring in October 2012 he began teaching full time.

Chief Dolan has lectured throughout the United States and has trained thousands of public safety professionals in the fields of Leadership & Management, Communications Skills, and Community Policing. Attendees have described his presentations as career changing, characterized by his sense of humor, his ability to maintain participant interest, and his passion for public service excellence. He is a graduate of Western Carolina University and holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Management from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.