Image contributed | Founded by former Fresno Chief of Police Paco Balderrama, El Matador Consulting provides a variety of solutions for police and security forces across the country.

Former Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama has taken his decades of law enforcement experience and channeled it into a new venture, El Matador Consulting, LLC., aiming to assist police departments and security agencies across the country with specialized training and assessments to address areas of concern in staffing, technology and more.

Balderrama welcomes the move to the private sector, saying his nearly 30 years in law enforcement have equipped him with a unique set of skills that transition well.

“It’s quite a bit different,” Balderrama said. “It’s still a challenge because it’s learning something completely new, completely different from what I’m used to.”

Despite the learning curve, it has not only allowed him to work in a more relaxed setting, but has also taken some pressures off his shoulders — a welcome change from the role of chief, which saw him receiving phone calls, texts and emails at a near 24-hour, seven-days-a-week basis.

“You don’t live with the huge amount of responsibility of knowing that the city’s safety is basically your responsibility,” Balderrama said.

He said the extra time has also allowed him to focus more on his personal life, with working hours significantly less strenuous.

“I’m actually a lot more present with my family now that I was before, simply because before I was present physically, but I was very distracted through text messages, emails, late phone calls and the like,” he added.

Balderrama said that the new business, like any, does have its challenges, but the added elements have been eased by his connection to other departments and individuals across the country.

Balderrama hopes to leverage these connections as he continues to grow El Matador.

With El Matador’s goal of sharing his own departmental successes with other agencies, Balderrama highlights his success with the Fresno Police Department.

During his time, Balderrama saw a vast reduction in violent crime as well as growth in the force itself — adding more than 300 officers under his watch.

Balderrama also saw vast expansion of technology within the department, highlighting tools like ShotSpotter, which can pinpoint the location of gunfire down to seven inches.

Technology has evolved to play a crucial role in policing; in its 3 ½-years under Balderrama, the Fresno Police Department underwent major changes, implementing technology to not only help officers on duty, but also to fill the gaps when the department lacked officers.

Balderrama said that with the average police department being around 20% understaffed, he hopes to help educate other departments about how leveraging technology can help offset some of the deficiencies.

“You have to fill the gap somehow,” he said. “Technology seems to do it.”

El Matador has already begun making an impact; although Balderrama has mostly worked with private businesses to this point, his upcoming engagements with public agencies look to spread the name of El Matador Consulting to departments nationwide.

Late this year, Balderrama will visit Orange County, Florida, and Sonoma, California, consulting with various law enforcement agencies for presentations on officer wellness, strategies to reduce violent crime and other department needs.

“The whole point is to get my name out there, get known, make the El Matador brand recognizable so that we’ll be called upon to do future assessments, future training and whatever else they need,” Balderrama said.

Recently, El Matador completed a security assessment for a local nightclub. Balderrama said that since the nightclub implemented his recommended security measures, not a single security incident has transpired.

“Typically, you solve the problem after something terrible happens,” he said. “They did it backward; they said, ‘What could possibly happen? Let’s get somebody in here that knows what they’re talking about.”

Balderrama said his passion behind El Matador Consulting and the opportunities ahead largely stem from the drive to help law enforcement and private entities succeed at the unique challenges they face.

Despite not missing the stress of being Fresno’s police chief, Balderrama said that he does miss the camaraderie of working alongside his former colleagues.

“I definitely don’t miss the job; I absolutely miss the people,” he said. “The people at the Fresno Police Department are some of the very best in the country, and it was my honor and pleasure to work alongside them.”

Balderrama hopes to take that passion with him to help other entities grow that same camaraderie that he felt at the Fresno Police Department.

“It’s all about teaching,” Balderrama said. “Standing in front of a bunch of cops and giving them tools, ideas, and strategies that maybe they haven’t thought about before—that’s what I enjoy most.”

For those interested in working with El Matador Consulting, Balderrama encourages them to reach out via email at info@elmatadorconsulting.com or LinkedIn.