Daniel Carlson began his law enforcement career in 1967 as a patrolman with the City of Poughkeepsie, New York Police Department, where he served for two years before joining the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Department. In 1970, he joined the New York State Police and progressed through a range of ranks and assignments including Trooper, Sergeant, Zone Sergeant, Lieutenant (Zone Commander), and Uniform Captain. He retired in June, 1988, as the Assistant Director of Training for the New York State Police, in order to assume the position of Manager at the North Central Texas Regional Police Academy in Arlington, Texas. In November, 1992, Mr. Carlson became Associate Director of the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration in Richardson, Texas, where he was appointed Director in September, 2005.

With a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the State University of New York, Mr. Carlson was honored with the George Searle Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement Training. He has held adjunct faculty positions at both John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Ulster Community College in Kingston, New York, and has served as an Adjunct Instructor and Consultant with the Institute of Police Technology and Management in Jacksonville, Florida. Mr. Carlson has extensive experience in both the development and presentation of training programs in a wide variety of law enforcement subject areas.

Dan has served as a member of the A.C.C.O.R.D. Committee (Acknowledging Community Cultural or Racial Diversity) for the Arlington Independent School District in Arlington, Texas, and is a graduate of the Ethics Corps program at the Josephson Institute for Ethics. A member of the Ethics Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Dan is Editor of The Ethics Roll Call: Listening to the Inner Voice, a quarterly publication of the Center for Law Enforcement Ethics at the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration. In addition, he is a member of the Police Executive Research Forum.

Mr. Carlson is author of When Cultures Clash: The Divisive Nature of Police-Community Relations and Suggestions for Improvement (October, 2001, Prentice Hall), and co-author of Reputable Conduct: Ethical Issues in Policing and Corrections (July, 2000, Prentice Hall).