Public Safety - Joseph "Jack" Lumpkin

Joseph “Jack” Lumpkin, Sr. is a native Athenian and long-standing steward of the area and the state of Georgia. In the 1970’s Jack began his commitment to public safety and service as he protected the community in which he resided. Now, over 50 years later he is still honoring that commitment and responsibility. Jack Lumpkin currently serves as the Director of Public Safety for DeKalb County, GA.

Director Lumpkin began rising in the ranks of law enforcement in the 1970’s. From a beat cop walking the streets and patrolling the neighborhoods, to a robbery-burglary stakeout officer, to a homicide detective and as a SWAT Team Leader; Jack Lumpkin applied his Community Oriented Policing Problem-Solving mindset to impartially engage all elements of the public. One of his favorite quotes is by President Abraham Lincoln which states “With public sentiment, nothing can fail, without it, nothing can succeed”. He constantly applies this message to his serve and protect approach to public service.

Over the decades, Jack Lumpkin has remained steadfast to impartially engaging the public, as he equitably protected and served people from all walks of life. He champions the fact that public safety is “a shared responsibility” between the people and their government as well as advocates that our jobs require helping people solve their problems. That mindset among other attributes ultimately led to his promotions that allowed him to serve in every rank within a police department. It also resulted in Jack Lumpkin becoming a 1988 graduate of Leadership Georgia. In two different decades, Jack Lumpkin was named Chief of the Year by the Georgia Chapter of National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and Chief of the Year by Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.

Jack Lumpkin’s leadership and managerial philosophy are grounded in Dr. J.W. Fanning’s Pillars of Leadership and the impartial application of the Peelian Principles of Policing.
His operational philosophy is Community Oriented Government through engagement with a constant state of improvement that employs data driven best practices, Intelligence Led Policing.

Over the years, Jack Lumpkin has actively engaged in and provided his support to community-oriented organizations, particularly those with a youth orientation. He supported and assisted in such efforts as establishing a medical capacity in East Athens area, Board membership on the Athens Regional Hospital Trustees, the location of Dance Center in East Athens, the overall mission of Family Connection and Communities in Schools, the Boys and Girls Club, the Athens Tutorial Program, the Athens Grand Slam Program, the Front Porch establishment in Savannah and similar initiatives in other communities he had the privilege of serving. Jack Lumpkin has held numerous roles in Law Enforcement and other organizations. He has served as a Board of Directors member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), a Regional Vice President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement (NOBLE), and a member of the National Association of Black County Officials. As one can summarize, Jack Lumpkin has dedicated his life to enhancing the peace officer profession. He is amongst a select number of law enforcement CEO’s internationally to be awarded the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.’s Egon Bitter Award for Excellence in Leadership of a CALEA agency profession.

Jack Lumpkin served for over 12 years on the Governor’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Jack Lumpkin is a P.O.S.T. certified instructor and holds management and chief executive certifications from the State of Georgia. He previously instructed within IACP’s Leadership in Police Organizations (LPO) Course. He has served for as an adjunct instructor at the college and University level. For nearly two decades, Jack Lumpkin instructed in the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police (GACP) new Chief Mandate Course.

He is a graduate of the 58th Administrative Officers Course of the University of Louisville, the 34th FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development session, the 209th Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy (FBINA), the 6th Session of the Georgia Command College, and graduated from the FBI’s premier internal and external leadership development program for heads of agencies with more than 500 officers.

After losing his bride in 2024, Jack Lumpkin is blessed to have their three children, Joseph Jr., Tonya, Diana, and their significant others, as well as 7 grandchildren to love and spoil.