Acting State Police Commissioner named

HARRISBURG -- Governor Edward G. Rendell on Friday named Lt. Col. Frank Pawlowski, a 30-year veteran of the Pennsylvania State Police, to serve as acting commissioner of the state’s top law enforcement agency effective Aug. 9. Pawlowski currently serves as the PSP’s deputy commissioner of operations.

“With more than three decades of service to the State Police, Lt. Col. Pawlowski has demonstrated the leadership and experience needed to serve as acting commissioner,” Rendell said.

Pawlowski enlisted in the police force June 1978 and began his career in patrol and criminal investigation assignments in the southeastern region of the state. He later held command positions at the troop level and was promoted to his present rank and position by Governor Rendell in March 2007.

Pawlowski received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from West Chester State College in 1976. He is a 1999 graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, and the Chester County Chiefs of Police Association.

He replaces Col. Jeffrey B. Miller, who announced this week that he was stepping down Aug. 18 to accept a position with the National Football League.

The 45-year-old Miller has been commissioner of the state police since his appointment by Rendell in 2003.