Department of Public Safety Commander
Lieutenant Colonel Robert A. Creamer
Lieutenant Colonel Creamer, a graduate of the 1997 recruit class, serves as the Deputy Superintendent and Chief of Field Operations and second in command of the Rhode Island State Police/Rhode Island Department of Public Safety. Prior to assuming the duties of the Deputy Superintendent, Lieutenant Colonel Creamer served as the Detective Commander holding the rank of Major.
Lieutenant Colonel Creamer is directly responsible for the Rhode Island State Police Uniform Division, Detective Bureau, Administrative Bureau, Division Specialty Units, and the Department of Public Safety. The Deputy Superintendent is continuously involved in the day-to-day operations of the Division of State Police and the Department of Public Safety. Lieutenant Colonel Creamer is the conduit for requests from local, state, and federal agencies seeking the assistance of the Rhode Island State Police and reports directly to the Superintendent. Lieutenant Colonel Creamer along with the Superintendent, works to ensure efficient operations and establish goals, direction, and priorities for the Division of State Police. The Superintendent has designated the Deputy Superintendent as the Public Information Officer (PIO) for the State Police and, as such, is responsible for disseminating information to the public through printed/electronic media and working with various media outlets.
The Department of Public Safety oversees all the State of Rhode Island’s public safety agencies to ensure efficient delivery of the services those agencies provide. These public safety agencies include E 9-1-1 Uniform Emergency Telephone System, Rhode Island Capitol Police, Rhode Island Municipal Police Training Academy, Rhode Island Division of Sheriffs, and Public Safety Grants Administration Office (formerly the Rhode Island Justice Commission). The Department of Public Safety also consists of the Central Management Office and legal personnel.
As the Detective Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Creamer was responsible for the overall operations, management and planning of the Detective Bureau including the Major Crimes Unit, Financial Crimes Unit, Intelligence Unit, Forensic Sciences Unit, Special Victims Unit, Division’s Cyber/Computer Crimes Unit, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), Narcotics / High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA), the Violent Fugitive Task Force (VFTF) and Gaming Enforcement as well as overseeing the Joint Cyber Task Force (JCTF), which is a public and private partnership of cyber professionals, and he is responsible for the Statewide Witness Protection Coordinator Program.
In the Uniform Bureau, Lieutenant Colonel Creamer was assigned to the Lincoln, Hope Valley, and Wickford Barracks and served as a Field Training Officer. He was transferred to the Detective Bureau in 2009 where he was assigned to the Financial Crimes Unit. As a member of the Detective Bureau, Lieutenant Colonel Creamer served in the Financial Crimes Unit, Intelligence Unit, and the Major Crimes Unit where his last assignment was as Officer-In-Charge, also managing the Auto Theft/Insurance Fraud Unit, the Sex Offenders Registration Notification Unit, and the Adult Correctional Institution’s State Police Investigative Unit. He is a member of and oversees the Rhode Island State Police Crisis Negotiation Unit, the Critical Incident Stress Management/Peer Support Team, and the Emergency Vehicle Operation Course Team (EVOC). Lieutenant Colonel Creamer is a member of the FBI Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force and was an officer of the RI Troopers Association for four years.
Prior to joining the Rhode Island State Police, Lieutenant Colonel Creamer was an accountant with American Power Conversion, West Kingston, RI. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and is a 2015 graduate of Leadership Rhode Island. He holds a Master of Business Administration Degree from Bryant University, a Professional Science Master's Degree in Cyber Security from the University of Rhode Island, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from Providence College. Lieutenant Colonel Creamer is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Leadership as well as the 279th Session of the FBI National Academy.