Throughout Bryan Lockerby’s career, he has stayed neutral, fair and balanced.
His impressive resume includes 31 years with the Great Falls Police Department and another 12 years leading Montana’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), where he oversaw some of the state’s most complex investigations—officer-involved shootings, deaths in custody, and other critical incidents. The type of situations where public trust depends on investigators operating without bias.
“At DCI, our credibility rested on being neutral,” said Lockerby (ELP 1901). “We investigated some of the state’s most sensitive cases, and the facts had to drive the outcome—not politics, personalities, or public pressure.”
Just as Lockerby was about to retire from state service, he received an unexpected phone call from Montana Supreme Court Chief Justice Cory Swanson, appointing him to a four-year term to help build a new commission from the ground up. The commission was the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission (JPEC), and it was established in 2025 by Montana lawmakers.
“It’s an honor to get a call like that when the Chief Justice calls you,” Lockerby said.
Today, JPEC remains in its developmental phase, with Lockerby serving as finance chairman. Members are developing evaluation tools, surveys, public feedback processes and accountability measures for judges across the state. The commission expects to launch its first full judicial evaluation cycle in 2027.
JPEC is designed to provide voters with objective information about judges, as well as provide judges with performance feedback. JPEC is part of a model already used in approximately 20 states.
The commission’s work comes as Montana courts increasingly confront issues including public land access, abortion rights, election laws, transgender rights, and water access. As these issues move through the judicial system, JPEC aims to provide voters with objective information about the judges interpreting and applying the law.
The JPEC also aligns closely with Lockerby’s belief in an impartial, systems-based leadership. For him, the work is essentially “left of boom” compared to his previous career.
“I spent most of my career working cases after something went wrong,” he said. “This role was different. It’s about strengthening the system before the problems occur.”
“One of the things that the program at CHDS did was really push me to think beyond day-to-day operations and focus on systems. How organizations function, where they might break down, and how you fix them.”
– Bryan Lockerby, ELP 1901
Lockerby garnered a systems-thinking mindset and integrated it into his leadership philosophy after attending the Executive Leaders Program (ELP) at CHDS, in addition to the Fusion Centers Leaders Program.
“One of the things that the program at CHDS did was really push me to think beyond day-to-day operations and focus on systems,” he said. “How organizations function, where they might break down, and how you fix them.”
He said ELP also enhanced his operational work with the art of critical thinking.
“Before CHDS, I tended to approach problems in a very linear way,” Lockerby said. “The program taught me to challenge my own assumptions, examine issues from multiple perspectives and think more strategically about the long-term consequences of decisions. That has influenced how I lead, how I teach and how I approach complex problems today.”
One of the most impactful classroom experiences for Lockerby was Dr. Rodrigo Nieto-Gomez’s presentation on “Influence & Intervention in Public Policy.” Lockerby said that, even after 45 years in government service, the course provided him a practical framework for understanding how leaders navigate political dynamics, legislative pressures, budget competition, and competing stakeholder interests. He said those concepts were especially relevant during Montana’s fast-paced, 90-day legislative sessions—a time when agencies must evaluate thousands of proposed bills and policy changes in a matter of weeks.
“Many of the things that I learned during that time, I pass on in executive leadership that I teach,” he said.
Lockerby has taught executive leadership at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy for nearly a decade, mentoring emerging leaders and sharing many of the lessons he learned through CHDS. He remains active as a consultant, author, and organizational reviewer. He recently helped evaluate challenges within Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks’ enforcement division.
He also maintains strong ties to the CHDS alumni community. By his own account, he was the lone “Montana guy” in his cohort; now, he continues to follow the careers of classmates who lead major agencies across the country.
Of all the leadership programs he has completed—including the FBI National Academy—Lockerby places CHDS at the top.
“I have to say that the one at CHDS, I found to be the most valuable, the most impactful, and probably the most rewarding,” he said.
Today, Lockerby jokes that retirement has become a recurring theme in his career. After retiring from the Great Falls Police Department, he embarked on a second career leading Montana’s Division of Criminal Investigation. Following his retirement in 2025, he was soon called back into public service as Deputy City Manager in Great Falls. Now, on the JPEC, he is helping build a statewide judicial accountability system, while keeping things fair and balanced.
“It’s all public service,” he said. “Something I’ve always enjoyed.”
