The California Highway Patrol has named a new chief information officer to succeed Chief Scott Howland, who’s retiring at the end of the month.
Assistant Chief Christopher Childs will take over as CIO on July 1, overseeing the IT and communications operations for the department.
Howland’s last day on the job is June 26. He’s retiring after almost 30 years with the CHP, having served in a variety of roles — patrol, media relations, legislative liaison and, most recently, CIO.
Howland, in an interview Thursday with Techwire, said his successor “loves technology” and will be a good fit for the CIO role.
Childs has been with the CHP in a variety of positions, most recently as assistant chief in the Enforcement and Planning Division. In his new role, he’ll move to the Information Management Division and continue working at CHP headquarters in Sacramento. Techwire has reached out for an interview with Childs.
Childs will also fill the collateral functions Howland has perfomed as CIO. In addition to overseeing CHP’s IT and telecommunications operations, he’ll be responsible for maintaining the IT that the department uses statewide — communications for all CHP commands, the CHP’s mobile fleet, and 24 communications centers statewide. And as Howland has, Childs will oversee the CHP’s Computer Crimes Investigations Unit, which investigates computer crimes involving state IT resources.
Howland, who was the subject of a recent Techwire virtual briefing, said the top priorities for the department’s CIO include:
— Stay on top of the IT workflow and the hardware — radios, laptops and computer-aided dispatch tools. “Make sure the technology is seamless, so the officers can just go and do their job,” Howland said.
— “Making sure we can continue to maintain our (cyber) security and make sure our systems are operating … making sure we’re changing with the threat, whatever that next threat’s going to look like.”
Howland said he and his wife plan to move to the Central California coast, where he plans to pursue his hobbies, including photography and video production. He said he plans to continue working, as well, though he has no specific plans.
“I will be going back to work, absolutely,” Howland said. “My wife has already told me I need to find a job.”
CHP Names CIO to Succeed Retiring Howland
When the department's new chief information officer takes over on July 1, he'll be overseeing a workforce that's largely working remotely. He'll also perform the collateral duties that outgoing Chief Scott Howland has performed — including leading the state's Computer Crimes Investigations Unit.
