The Bureau of Indian Affairs retiree who returned this month to take up the bureau director job at the Office of Justice Services is "a seasoned leader" for the complex position, said bureau Director Darryl LaCounte in a news release.

Richard "Glen" Melville, an enrolled member of Makah Tribe of Washington state, came out of retirement to take up the job this month, according to a Wednesday news release.

"Leading the Office of Justice Services is not just about managing a complex organization," LaCounte said in the news release. "At its core it is about ensuring tribal members throughout Indian Country are safe, healthy and have access to comprehensive law enforcement, prevention, intervention and support services."

Richard "Glen" Melville, out of retirement this month to lead Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services' public safety programs | facebook.com/BIAOJS

Melville is up to the job, LaCounte said, adding, "He is a seasoned leader well versed in the important services OJS provides to Indian Country."

Melville is a graduate of the Interior Department's Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's Criminal Investigations Training Program, the Naval Criminal Investigations Service Training Program, the FBI Command College and the Indian Police Academy.

Melville became a Makah Tribe police officer in 1995 and advanced through leadership law enforcement positions with the National Park Service and U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Coast Guard Investigative Services.  

Melville's work in the Bureau of Indian Affairs dates to 1997 and includes working as assistant agent in charge of District I in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and special agent in charge of District VII in Portland, Oregon. 

In 2018, Melville became acting regional director for Great Plains Region and two years later was named acting regional director for the Eastern Region. His 29-year career with the bureau included time in tribal law enforcement programs. He briefly retired in 2021 as Office of Justice Services deputy associate director.

Melville currently leads the Office of Justice Services' public safety programs.

"I am honored to return to the BIA having spent my career dedicated to Indian Country’s public safety mission," Melville said in the news release. "I look forward to applying that experience to build upon the work of my predecessors to advance the Office of Justice Services and the bureau overall in the next stage of my career."