Commissioner Ramsey brings over forty-seven years of knowledge, experience and service in advancing the law enforcement profession in three different major city police departments, beginning with Chicago, then Washington, DC, and Philadelphia. A native of Chicago, Illinois, he began his career in 1968, at the age of 18, as a Chicago Police cadet.
Commissioner Ramsey has been at the forefront of developing innovative policing strategies and leading organizational change. He is an internationally-recognized practitioner and educator in his field and is Past President of both the Police Executive Research Forum and the Major Cities Chiefs Association and is the only police professional to receive the Leadership Award from 3 major law enforcement organizations; the FBI National Executive Institute, Police Executive Research Forum and the Major Cities Chiefs Association. In 2014, President Barrack Obama chose Commissioner Ramsey to serve as co-chair of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. In 2017, he was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to serve as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
In 1999, Commissioner Ramsey partnered with the Anti-Defamation League and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in developing an innovative and experiential training program called “Law Enforcement and Society: Lessons from the Holocaust. As President of the Major Cities Chiefs
Association he co-founded the Police Executive Leadership Institute, a program specifically designed to develop the next generation of police leaders. In 2015, Commissioner Ramsey partnered with the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia developing an innovative training for police called “Policing in a More Perfect Union.”
Commissioner Ramsey holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in criminal justice from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the National Executive Institute. In recognition for his contributions to the field of policing and public safety, he has been awarded Honorary Doctorate Degrees from four universities.
In December 2015, the City of Philadelphia named the Philadelphia Police Department Training Academy Auditorium the Charles H. Ramsey Training and Education Auditorium. A U.S. Postage Stamp bearing his likeness was approved by the United States Congress in his honor.