Top Management Award
Rick Oules
Director, Division of Law Enforcement, State of California
Rick Oules is the Director of the Division of Law Enforcement, having been appointed to that position by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer in August 2005. In this position, Director Oules oversees the operations of one of the largest state investigative law enforcement agencies in the United States.
The California Department of Justice, Division of Law Enforcement, employs 450 sworn Special Agents, 200 forensic scientists, 600 civilian employees and has an annual budget of $182 million. The Division of Law Enforcement is comprised of six operational bureaus, which include the California Bureau of Investigations, the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, the Bureau of Forensic Services, the Criminal Intelligence Bureau, the Mission Support Branch, and the Western States Information Network.
Director Oules is this year celebrating his 29th year in law enforcement, a career that began with the Merced County Sheriff’s Department where he served as a patrol deputy, narcotics detective and a patrol sergeant. His move to the California Department of Justice came in 1987 as a Special Agent assigned to the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. Since joining the Department of Justice, he has held numerous managerial and leadership positions with the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, the Criminal Intelligence Bureau and the Division of Law Enforcement. Upon receiving his appointment as Director of the Division of Law Enforcement, Director Oules became the first Director in over 40 years to have been selected from within the ranks of the Special Agent series.
In nominating Director Oules, Assistant Chief Richard Lopes of the Mission Support Branch explained that Director Oules has led the Department through a period of severe budget restrictions that have occurred without any loss of support to innovative programs that have a significant impact on public safety protection. In addition, the Director has earned tremendous respect and trust among the Department for his recent handling of a highly publicized agent-involved shooting that led to a grand jury indictment. Director Oules was recognized for standing behind this agent — who was ultimately acquitted of murder — and standing up for the agency and its agents in the face of intense pressure from the Grand Jury and the courts.
Director Oules holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management from St. Mary’s College in California. He is a graduate of the California POST Supervisory Leadership Institute as well as the POST Executive Course. Director Oules is a Past President of the 7,000-member California Narcotics Officers Association (CNOA) and continues to serve on its Executive Board of Directors. He also serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the 3,000-member California Peace Officers Association and is a member of the Police Executive Research Forum. Additionally, Director Oules is a staff instructor for the Institute for Intergovernmental Research and a member of numerous law enforcement professional and fraternal associations. In his position, Director Oules has championed the Prevention and Education Awareness Program, the Drug Endangered Children Program, and Red Ribbon Week, all programs that are now widely accepted as part of the framework of the California education system.
For representing the qualities that transform a manager into a leader, the Golden Badge Foundation is proud to present its 2006 Top Management Award to Director Rick Oules.
