Summer 2011 Smart, Safe & Sober Newsletter

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Farewell, Frank!
Virginia Highway Safety Office Law Enforcement Liaison Frank Kowaleski retires after more than 40 years in public safety

Frank Kowaleski (left) was very devoted to the training of law enforcement officers during his career. Here he is at a Law Enforcement Challenge training in January, 2011.

Law Enforcement Liaison Frank Kowaleski may have left the Virginia Highway Safety Office this spring to spend more time with his family, but he’s staying active in highway safety. Frank says he plans to do some teaching at the academies, and conduct traffic safety training for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on a part-time basis.

Frank is a native of Western Pennsylvania and a US Navy veteran. He started his law enforcement career in 1970 by joining the Hampton Police Division. During his 11 years with HPD, he served in various areas — Patrol, Administration and Investigations — but the bulk of his time was spent in Crime Scene Reconstruction and Investigation. In 1980, Frank became an adjunct instructor at the regional criminal justice training academy teaching crime scene procedures.

In 1981, Frank left Hampton Police to become the Assistant Director and later Executive Director of the Hampton Roads Criminal Justice Training Academy, providing entry level, in-service and specialized training for law enforcement, corrections and 911 operators in southeastern Virginia. Then in 2001, just days after opening a brand new training facility, Frank retired as the academy's Executive Director and began a new career in highway safety.

Frank joined the staff of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP) as its Director of Programs. While there, he worked on a 3-year cooperative agreement with NHTSA as project director of the group that researched, developed, piloted, and evaluated the Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) program. ARIDE was created to address the gap in training between the SFST and the Drug Evaluation and Classification (DRE/DEC) Program. The idea behind ARIDE is that it is intended to bridge the gap between these two programs by providing officers with general knowledge related to drug impairment and by promoting the use of DREs in states that have the DEC Program. The ARIDE program focuses attention on its review and required student demonstration of the SFST proficiency requirements. The ARIDE program was piloted in Connecticut, Kentucky, Washington and West Virginia.

Following the completion of the ARIDE project, Frank then transitioned into his role as one of VACP's three Law Enforcement Liaisons (LELs) who, in partnership with the Virginia Highway Safety Office and NHTSA, assisted law enforcement agencies with their highway safety efforts. (In 2008, the Law Enforcement Liaisons positions were shifted from the VACP to the Virginia Highway Safety Office and Frank became the LEL for the Eastern Region of Virginia’s Highway Safety Office.) Frank and the other LELs traveled across the state helping agencies with their public education and enforcement efforts, conducting numerous trainings in all areas of highway safety (occupant protection, child passenger safety, DUI, speed, officer safety, and more). Frank became a huge proponent of Virginia’s Saved by the Belt Program as a way to encourage belt use and educate others about lives that were saved because those people wore their safety belts. The program now recognizes more than 75 people each year for making the life-saving decision to buckle up.

“Frank was a real asset to the VACP, and did a tremendous job to get more agencies involved in traffic enforcement. We know that he’ll continue to do great things and support our efforts in Virginia and around the country to keep our roads safe for motorists,” said Dana Schrad, VACP Executive Director.

Frank is a graduate of the Institute of Applied Sciences, and has an AAS in Police Science from Thomas Nelson College, a BA in Criminal Justice Administration from Saint Leo University and is a graduate of the Professional Executive Leadership School, conducted by the Virginia Police Chiefs Foundation and the University of Richmond. Frank is also a Life member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and served on their Highway Safety Committee and the Technical Advisory Panel. He is on the Board of Directors of Drive Safe Hampton Roads and serves as Chairman of the Peninsula chapter.

Frank serves on the Board of Directors for the ARC of Greater Williamsburg, and serves as a Lay minister at St. Olaf Catholic Church in Norge. He lives in Williamsburg with his wife, Nancy, of 42 years and his daughter, Jamie. He has 2 other children and 8 grandchildren.

Frank Kowaleski has spent the past ten years dedicated solely to the mission of highway safety, and he’s not done yet! He looks forward to hearing from everyone at frank@4highwaysafety.net. Good luck, Frank, and thank you for your many years of service in Virginia’s Smart, Safe and Sober Program.

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