Inside the DEA, DEA Leadership, Richard Sanders

Richard W. Sanders was appointed as the Assistant Administrator of the Operational Support Division for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in March 2006. As head of the Operational Support Division, he oversees the agency's information technology, investigative technology, forensic sciences, and administrative management programs. He is responsible for the management of the largest of DEA's six headquarters divisions and directs the agency-wide activities of more than 850 DEA employees and 800 contract employees, while planning and overseeing an annual budget of approximately $430 million.

Mr. Sanders has over 34 years of law enforcement experience, beginning his career as a police officer for the Jefferson County Police Department in Louisville, Kentucky in 1971. In 1983 Mr. Sanders pursued his lifelong goal to become a federal law enforcement officer and joined the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Special Agent within the Louisville, Kentucky Resident Office.

An accomplished fixed-wing and rotary-wing pilot, Mr. Sanders was assigned to the Miami Field Division in 1988 as a Special Agent/Pilot and provided air support for the division’s enforcement operation. In addition, Mr. Sanders flew numerous international missions in support of Operation Snowcap and Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (BAT). In 1994, Mr. Sanders was promoted to Supervisory Special Agent with the Office of Aviation Support where he oversaw the training, standardization and proficiency check rides for all 113 DEA aviators to ensure their operational readiness.

In 1996, Mr. Sanders was transferred to the Louisville, Kentucky Resident Office as the Resident Agent in Charge (RAC). Mr. Sanders supervised a multi-agency Drug Enforcement Task Force and assisted in the development of the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). Mr. Sanders was transferred to DEA Headquarters in 2001 and was promoted to the position of Special Assistant to the Administrator where he served two DEA Administrators. In 2002, Mr. Sanders was transferred to the Indianapolis, Indiana District Office as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC). Mr. Sanders was elected Chairman of the Lake County, Indiana HIDTA and expanded cooperation and intelligence sharing among the Indiana Law Enforcement community.

Mr. Sanders was promoted to the Senior Executive Service in 2002 and served as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the DEA's Chicago Field Division, where he provided direction and leadership for all DEA operations that were conducted throughout the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. Elected as Chairman of Chicago’s HIDTA, Mr. Sanders again promoted interagency cooperation. During his tenure, Mr. Sanders developed cooperative working relationships with other federal, state and local agencies to address the escalating violence attributed to drug gangs. With gangs controlling the retail distribution of narcotics, Mr. Sanders directed resources to attack gangs through HIDTA, State and Local Task Force groups, and Mobile Enforcement Deployments. He established the “Top 21,” an anti-gang initiative that targets the worst criminals in drug and violent offenses through information sharing and monthly strategy meetings with other law enforcement agencies. The “Top 21” and other violence reduction initiatives, have all contributed to the significant reduction in assaults and homicides in the Chicago area. Throughout his distinguished career, Mr. Sanders has been an advocate for increased cooperation between federal and state and local law enforcement and has proactively directed DEA’s participation in multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional investigations.

Mr. Sanders is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and has a Bachelor of Science in Police Administration and a Master of Science in Justice Administration obtained from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Sanders is married to the former Deidra Henley and has two sons.