Joerg K. Klein retired in 2021 after nearly 44 years of police service. For the past three years, he has been a university lecturer on the private security sector and security management.

Joerg started his career with the German Federal Police as patrol officer. During his then years there, he helped build and improve the investigation branch and, through this, he had his first experience with the police reform process.

He then moved to the State Police of his home state Saarland. For a short time, he was deployed as a patrol officer before he became a detective. During his time as a detective, he completed a three-year study in police science and was appointed Detective Lieutenant. Among the more senior positions he held were the Deputy Head of the Organized Crime/Drug Department, the Deputy Head of the Counter Terrorism Division, and the Head of the Counter Terrorism Investigation Department. In 2011, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the State Bureau of Investigation. He retired with the rank of Detective Major.

During his time in the Counter Terrorism Division, Joerg worked closely with foreign police organizations, learning their methods and structure. The FBI was among the agencies he worked with and, after a long operation, their partnership succeeded in preventing terrorist attacks on American military barracks in Germany. As a result, Joerg was invited to the FBI National Academy for a 10-week study program where he met numerous police officers from all over the country, giving him a deep understanding of policing in the US.

As Chief of Staff, he was partially responsible for assessing and coordinating all criminal charges against police officers for unjustified violence. To improve trust in the police, a policy was developed laying out the exact processes for investigations against police officers, but also against civilian persons who committed offenses against officers. The aim was to improve the timeframe in which these investigations took place, so that the persons involved were either incriminated or exonerated quickly. This approach helped improved public trust in the accountability process.

Joerg also worked with local community groups to facilitate a dialogue on topics like “violence against vulnerable groups” and “crimes committed by and against children and juveniles.”

His international career started as a civilian police officer with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo in 2001. While there, he helped reform the Border Police's investigation branch. He also served as Deputy Head of the Kosovo Organized Crime Bureau.

On behalf of organizations like the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), he has consulted for a number of police reform missions, including those In Tajikistan, Namibia, Uganda, Pakistan, Thailand, and Myanmar. The majority of these missions involved supporting police reforms by assisted with organizational development and training management measures.