Dr. Gene R. Deisinger

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Major Gene Deisinger, Ph.D., serves as Deputy Chief of Police and Director of Threat Management Services for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.  Major Deisinger serves as executive office for the Virginia Tech Police Department, a nationally accredited law enforcement agency.  In addition to his command responsibilities with VTPD, Dr. Deisinger also manages the university’s threat assessment and management functions.

Dr. Deisinger earned his doctorate in counseling psychology from Iowa State University.  He is a licensed psychologist, a certified health service provider in psychology, and a certified peace officer. 

Dr. Deisinger was a founding member of the Iowa State University Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT).  This multi-disciplinary team served as a pro-active planning group and coordinates institutional responses during crisis situations.  Dr. Deisinger served as the primary threat manager for Iowa State University from the team’s inception in 1994, until accepting his current position at Virginia Tech. Dr. Deisinger has personally managed and supervised threat cases and protective details for a broad range of governmental dignitaries, public figures, and members of the university community. 

Dr. Deisinger has provided consultation and training to numerous colleges and universities across the United States and been an invited presenter for several national organizations.  Dr. Deisinger is co-author of the recently released, Handbook for Campus Threat Assessment & Management Teams, a practical resource designed specifically for institutions of higher education.  He serves as a subject matter expert and trainer for the Campus Threat Assessment Training initiative for institutions of higher education.  This program is offered through Margolis, Healy & Associates under a grant from the US Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

Dr. Deisinger is committed to the safety and well-being of the campus and local community and has served as the team leader for a multi-jurisdictional team of law enforcement officers who provide early intervention and crisis response to persons with mental illness.  He has provided basic and advanced training for hundreds of law enforcement officers regarding recognition of and response to mentally ill persons.  This training has helped improve the safety and effectiveness of law enforcement personnel in responding to these calls for service and enhanced the safety and well-being of persons in crisis. He has also served as the commander of a multi-agency Hostage/Crisis Negotiation team and has assisted in safely resolving numerous crisis situations.  Dr. Deisinger has taught numerous courses on hostage/crisis negotiation and served on instructor teams for courses offered through the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Dr. Deisinger provides operational support and training for several local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and has served as a Special Deputy United States Marshal with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. 

Dr. Deisinger volunteers with crisis support teams, providing individual and group support services following critical incidents.  He has responded on-scene to numerous local and national crisis situations to provide support for emergency services personnel or victims of trauma.

Dr. Deisinger resides in Blacksburg, Virginia with his family.

Download: An Officer and a Psychologist