Hi, I’m Jerin J. Falcon
I spent twenty-seven years in tribal, state, and federal law enforcement, retiring in 2024 as Deputy Associate Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services. In that role, I oversaw drug enforcement and major crimes investigations across Indian Country, supporting operations on more than twenty-five reservations in thirteen states.
My career spans the justice system from the ground level to senior federal leadership. I began in county corrections and tribal policing before moving into federal law enforcement as a road officer. I later became a Special Agent, investigating violent crime and working undercover narcotics on an FBI Safe Trails Task Force. I served twice as a Special Agent in Charge, leading complex investigations involving drug trafficking, violent crime, and interagency coordination.
I am an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. That lived connection to Indian Country has informed my work throughout my career, particularly at the intersection of federal authority, tribal sovereignty, and public safety.
I am a graduate of Minot State University, the U.S. Indian Police Academy, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), and a veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard. Today, I consult selectively on Indian Country law enforcement issues, train federal employees on leadership and retirement transitions, and write thriller fiction grounded in real investigative experience. My writing on federal leadership has appeared in Government Executive.
My Approach
I believe in servant leadership. When you step into a supervisory role, your job changes. You are no longer there to be the expert. You are there to clear obstacles, develop your people, and take responsibility when things go sideways. There are no gotchas. We actually want people to succeed. When they do, you succeed.
After twenty-seven years watching colleagues come and go, I learned something that surprised me. The organization keeps moving after you leave. That is not sad. It is freeing. It means you can delegate, train people properly, take real vacations, and stop carrying everything yourself.
I have written about these ideas for Government Executive and trained hundreds of federal supervisors and executives across DOI and DOJ. The principles are not complicated. The hard part is doing them consistently.
Simple ideas
Show up for your people. Tell them the truth. Give them what they need to succeed. Then get out of the way.
Lasting impact
The best leaders I have known did not build empires. They built people who went on to lead well themselves.