Sergeant (Ret.) Dale Fors started his career in 2001 with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office as a reserve deputy. He was promoted to reserve sergeant and shortly after was hired by the Salinas Police Department where he spent the bulk of his career of nearly 20 years. As an officer, Fors held many different assignments including field training officer, violence suppression unit gang officer, crime scene investigator, SWAT team member and served on the department’s mounted patrol unit. In 2011 he was assigned as a Detective in the investigations unit and was assigned to over 30 homicide cases, investigated numerous officer-involved shootings and participated in several federal-level investigations including wiretap operations. After retiring from Law Enforcement, Dale joined the South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium “The Academy” as ICI Program Manager
What motivated you to be a LEPSL ambassador?
Being a part of the LEPSL program since its inception has been an honor. Sharing the legacy with others and adding new members to the LEPSL family is my motivation. By expanding our community we are strengthening the future leaders of Law Enforcement and concurring challenges through our ever-growing network.
Why did you choose the LEPSL program? What made LEPSL stand out in comparison to other schools/programs?
Being able to attend a private, accredited, world-class college such as USD sold itself. Nothing compares.
What were your concerns about starting a graduate program?
The time commitment while holding a full-time job gave me reservations about starting the program. After taking the chance, however, I found the time allocation needed was manageable and after getting into a rhythm it became easy to accomplish.
How did the LEPSL program help you achieve your career goals?
Shortly after completing the LEPSL program I passed the Sergeants exam and was promoted. The promotion however was not the achievement. I realized after several years that the LEPSL program laid a foundation of learning, evaluation and success that has paid dividends. The program helped me become the leader I wanted to be in and out of Law Enforcement.
What advice would you give to someone to be a more effective leader?
Effective leadership is achieved in many ways. Depending on the situation or person you need to lead you will have to adapt your leadership style accordingly. Being dynamic and having the ability to pivot leadership styles at all times is imperative to being effective. My advice is to learn and practice all leadership styles so you have multiple tools to utilize.
What was your favorite part of the LEPSL program?
My favorite part of the program was the final project. Being able to see all the literary pieces I developed come together and the ability to design a website revolving around those pieces of work was rewarding.
What were you balancing while participating in the LEPSL program?
- Patrol Sergeant
- SWAT Team Leader/ Sergeant
- FTO Sergeant
- Fleet Manager
- Respiratory Program Manager
- ALPR Manager
- Two kids and a wife!
How did you stay motivated throughout the program in the face of competing priorities in your life?
I focused on the day-to-day challenges, which led me to accomplish the work of the week, leading to the completion of each seven-week course, resulting in my completion of the program! Knowing that the end had a finite time was helpful for me and my family.
LEPSL Graduating Class:
2017