New chief in Millbrae

“It is basically the lowest level sworn position you can have, you start working in the jails and it’s basically all you can do as a CO,” Allen said. “I take a great deal of pride having started at that level, really legitimately starting at the ground and working my way up.”

Allen worked as a correctional officer for nearly a year before he looked for a new opportunity, he said. He was then promoted to sheriff’s deputy and attended the Sheriff’s Academy. At the academy, he was classmates with current Sheriff Christina Corpus, who was also Allen’s predecessor as the former chief of the Millbrae Police Bureau, he said.

“There is a legacy of a bunch of commanders here but really following the Sheriff’s footsteps because she was huge on being in the community and having conversations with the community. And my first priority is really to continue that work,” Allen said. “I’ve always admired that from afar and tried to emulate some of those things as far as building relationships with the community and really finding new ways to engage with groups that aren’t always represented with services or law enforcement.”

As a sheriff’s deputy he worked in Millbrae and became familiar with the intimate relationship between the bureau and the community, which is a legacy he is proud to continue to strengthen as the chief.

Allen is familiar with the Bay Area community at large. Growing up in El Granada, he attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco before earning his bachelor’s degree in political science and government from Villanova University as a student-athlete and a masters in public safety leadership from the University of San Diego.

As a senior at Villanova University, Allen received second team All-American distinction, according to Villanova’s website. His time as a student athlete, playing as an offensive tackle for the football team, helped shape him into a team-oriented, driven and accountable person both on and off-duty, he said.

During his last six years in the Sheriff’s Office, Allen was promoted to lieutenant and served in a variety of capacities including field training officer and honor guard with the SWAT team. Most recently, he worked for a year and a half in professional standards, which Allen describe as the backbone of the agency because it enforces policy and procedures, internal affairs investigations, and use of force investigations.

“We are accountable to the public and the people that pay taxes that fund our salaries so it is really important to be accountable, and make sure we are doing things the right way,” Allen said. “Because we want to make sure people are doing what they are supposed to be doing and not doing what they aren’t supposed to be doing.”

Moving forward, Allen recognizes that Millbrae is a growing community with a lot of new construction — meaning more residents and more employees in the coming years — and he wants to make sure the police bureau is addressing the needs of the community as it continues to change.

The bureau’s top priority, Allen said, is to ensure residents and merchants in the city feel safe. To do so, he acknowledged the need to address issues with crimes around the transit hub including retail thefts.

“We are seeing the transit hub as a big conduit of some of these elements into town and we do a great deal of enforcement there,” Allen said.

When Allen isn’t protecting the community, he’s busy being a father to his three kids and a husband to his wife.

“I am all aboard the family train,” Allen said. “Whether I am coaching or attending, I am just trying to be present for them because this job takes a lot of your time and energy. So I try to make sure I am focused as possible when I am home both for my wife and my kids and be the best family man I can.”

nick@smdailyjournal.com

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