Lieutenant Michael Provence was born and raised in Mission Viejo, CA. He obtained his Associates of Arts degree from Saddleback College. He graduated from Sonoma State University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. That same year, he began his career as a police officer with the City of Oceanside. He later obtained a Master’s in Public Administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Lieutenant Provence has served in a variety of assignments within the department. He worked in the Patrol and Investigations Divisions. While working as a detective, Lieutenant Provence was assigned to the Property Crimes Unit, the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, and the Crimes of Violence Unit. In 2015, Lieutenant Provence was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was assigned to serve as a field supervisor in the Field Operations Division. In 2021, he returned to the Investigations Division as a Detective Sergeant. In 2023, Lieutenant Provence was promoted to his current rank and is currently assigned to the Investigations Division.