Lieutenant Colonel George L. Bivens currently serves as the Acting Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police. A native of Johnstown, Lt. Col. Bivens enlisted in the Pennsylvania State Police in 1985, spending much of his early career serving communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania and in various roles within the Bureau of Criminal Investigation where he developed an expertise in criminal investigations and the field of intelligence. In 2008, he was promoted to lead the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and in 2011, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. As the Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Lt. Col. Bivens oversaw all 16 PSP Troops and 4 Area Commands, the Bureau of Patrol, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, Bureau of Emergency and Special Operations, Bureau of Gaming Enforcement, the Executive Services Office, and the Office of Homeland Security.
Throughout his career, Lt. Col. Bivens has been a steady public-facing leader during some of the Commonwealth’s most complex and high-profile investigations, including leading the manhunt for Eric Frein in 2014, overseeing the successful search for escaped convict Danelo Cavalcante in 2023, and numerous other significant events to include a Papal Visit, the DNC and RNC Conventions, a G-20 Summit, the Baltimore City riot deployment, Hurricane Sandy response, UPMC York shooting, and many other large-scale events in which PSP played a significant role.
Lt. Col. Bivens is a 1997 graduate of the FBI National Academy, a 2010 graduate of the FBI’s Leadership in Counterterrorism Program, and a 2012 graduate of the National Executive Institute. Lt. Col. Bivens is active within the International Association of Chiefs of Police as a member and past chair of several committees. Lt. Col. Bivens has earned a commercial pilot rating in both rotorcraft and fixed wing aircraft. Lt. Col. Bivens has received numerous awards, including the Medal of Commendation for assisting a fellow trooper who was threatened during a 1998 confrontation with Ku Klux Klan members in Somerset County.
Lt. Col. Bivens exercises command, administrative, and fiscal authority over the Pennsylvania State Police, the tenth-largest police agency in the United States, serving a population of more than 12.9 million residents across a 45,000-square-mile area. He oversees a budget of more than 1.5 billion dollars and commands a statewide complement of approximately 6,500 enlisted and civilian personnel, which includes an authorized complement of 4,841 State Police Troopers.
