Chief John Karajanis Jr. was hired as a police officer on July 26, 1985 after serving for 4 years with the West Haven Police Auxiliary. During Chief Karajanis' rank as Patrolman, he was assigned to the Detective Division in 1992 and the Street Crime Unit in 1993.

In 1994, Officer Karajanis was promoted to the rank of Sergeant where he was assigned to the Patrol Division.

In 1996, Sergeant Karajanis was promoted to the rank of Detective Sergeant and was assigned to the Investigative Services Division.

In 1998, Det/Sgt. Karajanis was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant where he served as a Shift Commander for the Patrol Division.

Lieutenant Karajanis was promoted to the rank of Captain in 2003 where he initially served as the Captain of the Investigative Services Division. In 2005, he was assigned to head the Support Services Division and in 2009 was re-assigned to the Investigative Services Division.

On February 26th, 2010 Captain Karajanis became the West Haven Police Department's 16th Chief of Police.

Chief Karajanis attended the University of New Haven where he received his Bachelor's Degree in 1986 in Criminal Justice-Law Enforcement Science and later a Master's Degree in 2001 in Criminal Justice Administration. He currently is, and has been since 2001, an Adjunct Professor at the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science at the University of New Haven where he has taught several Criminal Justice courses.

Chief Karajanis has been a lifelong resident of the City of West Haven where he currently resides with his wife Jill and children Carly, Tristan and Melina.

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