our mission
An organization’s mission, vision, and values are vital but often overlooked building blocks for the success of your agency and your staff. They communicate your core function and the things that matter to you now and in the future.
Our mission, simply put, is to help you accomplish yours. We are committed to helping our clients build more effective, efficient, and accountable organizations that earn the trust of the public and their employees.
IRCG’s staff of retired police executives and elected leaders have extensive management and investigative experience in Washington and California. We will use our education, training, and expertise to help your organization grow.
Our services are crafted to help your organization achieve that mission and help your organization reach its potential.
At IRCG we value:
Professionalism
Accountability
Clear communications and expectations
Trust
Continual growth and learning.
Our Team
IRCG’s team members each bring decades of experience in investigations and leadership that we can use to help our clients achieve and maintain high standards of professionalism and accountability.
Craig Schwartz
Owner, Principal Investigator
Craig is a retired police chief with nearly 30 years of service in law enforcement. He served 27 years with the Rosa Police Department in northern California, retiring as a Captain in 2018. He next brought organizational and cultural change while serving as the Chief of Police in Pacific, Washington.
Craig has served as a patrol officer, detective, SWAT team member, and use of force instructor. As a supervisor and member of the command staff in Santa Rosa, he led patrol teams, the SWAT team, and the Department’s Gang Crimes Team. As a Lieutenant and Captain, he led bureaus and divisions overseeing patrol, investigations, and personnel/professional standards. Craig worked collaboratively with the communities he served throughout his career to resolve crime and safety issues, implement new technologies and practices, and build trust.
Craig has led and participated in hundreds of criminal investigations of all types. He has extensive experience in administrative investigations, serving in every role from investigator to Chief of Police. He has command and executive-level experience in post-disciplinary grievance and mediation processes.
Craig has completed specialized training courses, including Background Investigations, Internal Affairs Investigations, Homicide Investigations, Officer Involved Shooting Investigations, Gang Investigations, Narcotics Investigations, SWAT, Tactical Commander, Defensive Tactics Instructor, Firearms Instructor, and many more.
Craig earned his bachelor’s degree in political science at the United States Naval Academy and a master’s degree in security studies (homeland security) at the Naval Postgraduate School. He is also a graduate of the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training Command College and the FBI National Academy. He helped prepare the law enforcement leaders of today and tomorrow as an adjunct faculty member teaching courses in the University of San Diego’s Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership Master’s Degree Program.
Since retiring from law enforcement in 2021, Craig has worked as a workplace and background investigator in Washington. Having participated in all aspects of agency accountability processes, Craig brings a broad base of experience and a police chief’s perspective to help improve your agency’s professional standards and accountability processes so you have the information and support you need to make the best decisions for your community, your agency, and your employees.
ROD COVEY
Director of Training
Rod was the Chief of Police for the Port of Seattle until the fall of 2020 having assumed that position in 2016 after serving over seven years as one of the department’s deputy chiefs. He previously served 32 years with the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). He worked his way up through the ranks serving in the Highway Patrol, Narcotics Investigations, and Training. Once he reached the rank of Captain, he spent time in various leadership positions including assignments as the Commander of the Arizona Law Enforcement Training Academy, the Chief of Staff for the Director of Public Safety, the Chief of the Highway Patrol, the Assistant Director of Operations and the Assistant Director overseeing the Agency Support Division. He has served as the Executive Director of the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training (AZ POST) Board and the Director of the AZ Regional Community Policing Institute. He finished his time in Arizona as Director of the Center for Leadership Excellence at AZ POST.
Rod has brought his extensive experience and expertise in leadership and organizational development to classrooms, universities, and organizations nationwide, having trained and coached thousands of new and experienced leaders. He has worked with hundreds of federal, state, county, and city agencies including the Washington State Patrol, Pentagon Force Protection, and the United States Customs and Border Protection. Among the many courses he has developed and taught for over 38 years are lessons on performance management, leading change, coaching and mentoring, followership, transformational leadership, and the leader’s role in creating and maintaining an ethical culture. For 12 years before the Covid pandemic, he was a featured presenter at the FBI’s Northwest Command College for Washington State and at IACP’s annual conferences. In 2019, and just before the pandemic, he briefly returned to the law enforcement speaking circuit with presentations around the country to include the FBI National Academy Associates Conference in Phoenix and the Vision 2029 Conference in Milwaukee.
He is certified by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) as a master instructor and faculty developer for the Leadership in Police Organization (LPO) Program. He has taught and lived the LPO curriculum since 2006. He is also a certified facilitator for FranklinCovey© with regard to the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People© and 7 Habits for Law Enforcement©.
Rod has an AA Degree in Criminal Justice, a bachelor's Degree in Management, and a Masters's Degree from Northern Arizona University in Educational Leadership. He is a graduate of the 157th Session of the FBI National Academy and Arizona State University’s Institute for Public Executives. He attended the 52nd Session of the Senior Management Institute for Policing (SMIP) conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) at Boston University. Rod served on the executive board of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) and was President and Vice-President of the King County Chiefs and Sheriffs Association. He is recognized as a Lifetime Member of the FBINAA, PERF, and the National Field Training Officers Association.
Tom Schwedhelm
Consultant
Tom Schwedhelm completed his second term (eight years) as a member of the Santa Rosa City Council on December 13, 2022. He was first elected to the City Council in November of 2014 and was re-elected in 2018. His colleagues on the City Council unanimously elected him to be the 76th Mayor of the City in December of 2018. His two-year term ended in 2020. Prior to being elected to the City Council, Tom worked for 31 years with the Santa Rosa Police Department. In 2009, Tom was selected to be the 12th Chief of Police for Santa Rosa. He retired as Chief in December of 2013.
While on the City Council, Tom served on several regional and local boards. He has been the Chair of a number of these boards and agencies including the Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Sustainability Agency and the Sonoma County Continuum of Care. Tom was also the Vice Chair of the Renewal Enterprise District, an innovative organization designed to take a regional approach to housing planning and production. On the City of Santa Rosa Council Sub-committees, Tom has been the chair of the Santa Rosa Violence Prevention Partnership, the Public Safety Sub-committee, and the Climate Action Sub-committee. Tom also participated as a member of the City of Santa Rosa Long-Term Financial Policy and Audit Sub-committee and was a member of the ad hoc committee on Housing and Homelessness.
Tom earned his Associate of Science degree in Administration of Justice at Santa Rosa Junior College, his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management at St. Mary’s College and his Master of Arts degree in Psychology – Organizational Development at Sonoma State University.
Tom is a graduate of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Santa Rosa Class 19 and served several years as a member of the Leadership Santa Rosa Steering Committee.