Louis “Lou” Caprino Named Indian River State College Dean of Public Service Education

June 17, 2024 Indian River State College

FORT PIERCE, FLA. – Louis “Lou” J. Caprino, Jr., CPP, CFIO, CHS-V, an internationally recognized public safety and law enforcement expert, will become the next Indian River State College Dean of Public Service Education, President Timothy E. Moore, Ph.D. announced today. He will oversee the College’s public service program, offering comprehensive degrees, certificates, and non-credit professional development opportunities for law enforcement, corrections, fire service, emergency management, human services, public administration, and paralegal studies. His appointment begins June 17, 2024.

“Lou Caprino’s exceptional career is distinguished by a lifelong commitment to higher education, public service, and public safety,” said President Moore. “I look forward to Lou’s advancement of Indian River State College's public service education curricula and our law enforcement and fire science training programs, while strengthening our commitment to helping our local and regional emergency response agencies deliver exceptional service to our community. We enthusiastically welcome him!"

“I am honored to join Indian River State College as the Dean of Public Service Education,” said Mr. Caprino. “I look forward to working alongside the remarkable instructors and dedicated personnel to train the upcoming generation of public service changemakers.”

Caprino is the former chair of the Vincennes University Homeland Security and Public Safety program. He brings to Indian River State College 29 years of service in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and 19 years in education.

Assigned to the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, he oversaw the professional crime and cybercrime division. He directed the Joint Terrorism Task Force, composed of task force officers representing the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Bureau of Customs and Immigration Enforcement, and U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigation. Caprino administered all special mission/critical incident response groups, including the Evidence Response Team, Hazardous Material Response Team, Underwater Search Evidence Response Team, Rapid Deployment Team, Weapons of Mass Destruction Team, Crisis Negotiation Team, Special Agent Bomb Techs, and Special Weapons and Tactics. Mr. Caprino was also assigned to FBI field offices in New York, Indianapolis, and FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Caprino served the FBI overseas as Legal Attaché from 1998 – 2003. He was accredited to the U.S. Embassies in Canberra, Australia; Wellington, New Zealand; Suva, Fiji; and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. He worked closely with embassy country teams on assignments involving all FBI investigative programs including violent crime, white collar crime, cybercrime, counterterrorism, and counter intelligence. He was temporarily assigned as Legal Attaché to the U.S. Embassy in Singapore and had oversight of the agency’s investigations in Singapore, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, and Brunei.

Mr. Caprino also has the distinctions of being a FBI Certified Intelligence Officer (FCIO) and Certified Protection Professional (CPP).

Caprino earned his Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York at Oneonta and a Master of Arts from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Prior to joining the FBI, Caprino taught the Spanish language at the Three Village School District on Long Island, New York. He was also a member of the Suffolk Court Auxiliary Police.

He succeeds Raimundo Socorro.

ABOUT INDIAN RIVER STATE COLLEGE

Indian River State College (IRSC), winner of the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, is a recognized leader in higher education. IRSC is a comprehensive institution offering career training, certificate programs, associate degrees, and baccalaureate degree programs to supports its students’ educational goals. IRSC has consistently fulfilled its mission of responding to the needs of the community by adopting a simple philosophy: offer the best quality education at the most affordable price possible. The College is the only open-access public institution of higher education in its four-county service district, and the IRSC Promise Program affords all high school graduates in its service district the opportunity to earn a tuition-free associate degree.