Colonel Keith D. Squires
Utah Dept. of Public Safety
Background Information Updated September 10, 2011

Colonel Keith Squires serves as Governor Gary R. Herbert’s Homeland Security Advisor and oversees law enforcement, homeland security and emergency management services for the state. He has over 24 years experience in local and state law enforcement in Utah. He began his career with the Utah Department of Public Safety as a State Trooper in 1989. He has promoted through all ranks of the department during his career and previously served in other key positions, including the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation and Assistant Superintendent of the Utah Highway Patrol. 

In September 2007, Col. Squires was appointed by Governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr. to serve as his Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety. Each state or territorial governor has a designated homeland security advisor. Governor Huntsman gave Col. Squires the responsibility of designing and establishing a state intelligence fusion center for Utah. That fusion center is called the Utah Statewide Information and Analysis Center (SIAC) and began operation in 2008. The SIAC is a cooperative effort between state, local and federal agencies to receive, analyze and share information related to criminal activity and counterterrorism through a central location within the state. It is one of 72 state and regional fusion centers located throughout the country that form the National Fusion Center Network. 

Col. Squires regularly presents information to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and her senior staff on matters related to state’s roles, responsibilities and participation in the national homeland security mission. He was recently elected by his peers to serve as the Chairman of the National Governors Association Homeland Security Advisors Council for 2012. He currently serves on the National Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council, the advisory board for the National Counterterrorism Center’s Interagency Threat Assessment Coordination Group and the Director of National Intelligence’s State, Local, Tribal Partners Board. 

Colonel Squires has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration and a master’s degree in Homeland Security and Defense from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. His 2009 master’s thesis is titled Critical Accountability: Preventing and Interdicting Terrorist Activity in the U.S. by Effectively Utilizing State and Local Law Enforcement.