Chief of Police
Colonel Anthony Roberson, Chief of Police
Colonel Anthony J. Roberson is the 19th Chief of Police of the Central Falls Police Department. He began his law enforcement career in 2002 as a patrol officer with the Providence Police Department serving as a member of the Patrol Bureau, UCR/IBR Coordinator, member of the Neighborhood Response Team Task Force, School Resource Officer, Commanding Officer of the Records Bureau, Detective in the investigative division, Patrol Sergeant, acted as the Juvenile Hearing Board liaison and instructed on cultural competency and diversity for the police academy.
Colonel Roberson is a graduate of the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Education in Public Leadership in Senior Executives in State and Local Government, Leadership Decision Making and Nonprofit Management and Leadership earning him an Executive Certificate in Public Leadership. He is also an alum of Cornell University’s Women in Leadership program, Harvard University’s Extension School for Effective Organizational Communication, Roger Williams University’s Leadership Development and Organizational Learning in policing, Northwestern University’s Center for Public Safety-Supervision of Police Personnel program, the New England Public Safety Command Academy, the University of Louisville Southern Police Institute’s Chief Executive Law Enforcement Program and MIT’s Management Executive Education in Leading Organizations. In addition, he is a graduate of the F.B.I National Academy.
Colonel Roberson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Bellevue University, a Master of Science Degree from Boston University in Criminal Justice with a Concentration in Strategic Management, a Post-Master’s Degree in Education, as well as a Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership. He has attended the New York State Police 34th Colonel Henry F. Williams Homicide School, the FBI Regional Command College and has completed the Executive, Command and Supervisory trilogy leadership programs at FBI-LEEDA. In 2023, Colonel Roberson was appointed to the Rhode Island Police Officers Commission on Standards and Training. In addition, Chief Roberson is the first sworn official in the department’s history to have his published doctoral dissertation entered into the FBI library.
Colonel Roberson is the recipient of numerous accolades. He was the first in Rhode Island to be selected to receive the United States Department of Justice Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service in Community Policing, a recipient of the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public service, inducted into the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall of Fame for the City of Providence, an awardee of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs’ Association for Community Policing, an honoree of the NAACP Medgar Evers Award, presented the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Special Recognition Award by the State of Rhode Island, selected as a “Men Who Make a Difference” by the Women’s Resource Center and chosen as a finalist for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Citizen Honor Award in addition to receiving other recognitions.
Colonel Anthony Roberson has implemented several national award-winning efforts such as the “Handshake Initiative”, the “Bicycle Summer Safety Program” and the “Leading Ladies Initiative”. He also serves on Board of directors for the YMCA and Nonviolence Institute.
