Lucia Moreno-Linares
Photo/Port of Los Angeles
New York/New Jersey: Port Authority Names Bilich Chief Security Officer
John Bilich is the new chief security officer at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. He had been acting chief security officer since December 2016.
Mr. Bilich joined the port authority in March 2015 as first deputy chief security officer after serving as the chief investigator at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. Earlier, he served 24 years with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), rising to the rank of deputy commissioner of operations, where he functioned as the agency’s primary crime strategist and headed its COMPSTAT program.
He subsequently joined the New York State Division of Criminal Justice as Deputy Commissioner for Public Safety. He managed Operation IMPACT program designed to reduce crime in the 17 counties that account for 80 percent of the state’s crime outside New York City.
The port authority’s chief security officer position was created in 2012 to centralize safety and security operations at the agency’s bistate transportation facilities. It is tasked with overseeing the 1,800-member Port Authority Police Department and providing the highest quality in public safety, facility security operations, security program management, emergency management and airport rescue and firefighting training.
"John is a world-class law enforcement professional whose dedication and leadership will help us to better protect the public and the critical transportation assets that we operate and maintain," said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. "John’s efforts in the time he’s been with us have already strengthened and unified our security operations, and we are confident he will continue to fulfill this critical role."
