Captain Robert A. Rivas

Captain Robert A. Rivas began his law enforcement career with the City of Anderson Police Department in September 1992. Captain Rivas' prior assignment in the Department was in the Office of Professional Standards. Captain Rivas has also served in the Patrol and Investigative Divisions. His major career training includes Patrol Investigative Techniques, Criminal Analysis, Marijuana Analysis, Organized Crime Investigation, Money Laundering Investigation, First Line Supervisor, Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents, Police Executive Development, Senior Grant Specialist and Reviewer, Internal Affairs and Criminal Intelligence Analysis. Commanding the Administrative and Records Division, Captain Rivas is responsible for maintaining police records, budget oversight, federal and state grant coordination, and the administrative operations within the physical facility of the Department.

Robert Rivas is currently certified as a Radar Operator and Marijuana Analyst. He is a graduate of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, Georgia and the United States Secret Service Training Center in Beltsville, Maryland. Rivas holds an Associate in Science (1986), a B/A in Psychology (1988) and a M/A in Management of Organizations (1992).

Academic and professional achievements include graduating summa cum laude with a B/A in Psychology in 1988 and completing the Masters program with a cumulative 3.825 GPA in 1992. In addition to graduating from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy with honors, Robert Rivas has received an award for academic excellence and a certificate for qualifying as a sharpshooter on the practical pistol course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. He also received a certificate in recognition for achieving outstanding performance in physical conditioning from the United States Secret Service Uniform Division.

Since the mid-1990's, Rivas has been instrumental in the acquisition of approximately $4m in grant funding for the department which was derived from the successful development of at least 29 competitive grant proposals and 12 direct awards . The grant awards resulted in the implementation of at least 9 crime and traffic crash suppression programs. The awards also increased the department's sworn staff by 17 personnel and assisted the department in the acquisition of hundreds of thousands of dollars of needed equipment.