Biography of Sheriff Kevin M. KRAUS
On January 3, 2022, Kevin M. Kraus was sworn in as the 53rd Sheriff of Allegheny County. Prior to that, Kraus was appointed and sworn in as Chief Deputy on June 5, 2014.
A 21-year veteran of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Chief Kraus worked through the ranks of Detective, Sergeant and Lieutenant. For 12 years, he served as Lieutenant of Major Crimes, Investigations Branch, responding to and overseeing the criminal and administrative investigations of all police-involved incidents entailing serious injury or death to any party, responding to homicide and major crime scenes and managing those investigations while commanding a staff of 9 supervisors and 100 detectives within the 12 divisions of Major Crimes.
Chief Kraus also served as the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police media spokesperson for 11 years and was the coordinator of the Allegheny County Crime Stoppers of Pennsylvania television program.
He received numerous acclamations and was the recipient of the prestigious Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Officer of the Year award for leadership performance, as well as the agency’s Meritorious Service Award for his effective implementation of crime suppression strategies. He also received the Law Enforcement Agency Directors award for outstanding leadership performance.
Chief Kraus is an alumnus of La Roche College, where he graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a degree in Administration and Management. He is also a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy and completed police executive training at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, both of which are only offered to selected top law enforcement officials.
Key Accomplishments include:
- Spearheaded drive-thru mobile Firearms License to Carry events and launched the reopening of the Firearms Division with online appointment scheduling and a dedicated Deputy Sheriff to safeguard health and safety procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Coordinated with local communities throughout Allegheny County to promote the Sheriff’s Office Project D.U.M.P initiative to help curb the local drug overdose crisis and combat the opioid epidemic.
- Strengthened the public’s awareness of Sheriff’s Office crime prevention initiatives and programs using our website, social media platforms and television interviews to expand our law enforcement mission and keep citizens apprised especially when wide scale health and economic futures hung in the balance.
- Endorsed leading-edge technology to align with the Sheriff’s Office commitment to provide the highest degree of public service expressly in response to recent events and the demand of transparency while protecting our law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every day.
- Partnered with federal enforcement agencies and participated in Federal Task Force enterprises on fugitive apprehension, terrorism, human trafficking, narcotic trafficking and other violent progressions.
- Served Allegheny County residents by working with community partners and mobilizing resources through food, school supplies, clothing and toy donation and distribution as well as corona virus prevention and safety literature for over 10,000 senior citizens.