Chief of Police - Durham, NC

Chief Of Police

If you are a law enforcement executive who drives innovative public safety initiatives that lower crime rates and strengthen community trust through proactive data sharing and transparency, leads with confidence and command presence, can energize and grow a dedicated workforce while championing employee wellness and an engaged organizational culture, values input from staff, empowers subject matter experts, and fosters a culture where employees feel supported, heard, and accountable, builds trusted relationships with community stakeholders and diverse neighborhood groups—listening to different perspectives and identifying the path forward that best serves the community, the City of Durham is seeking a confident and adaptive executive to serve as its next Chief of Police at a critical point in the department's evolution. This is an opportunity to lead a CALEA-accredited, high-profile agency during a transformative era—growing and guiding a talented team through a shifting public safety landscape and shaping the future of policing in a premier North Carolina city.

The next Chief will step into a demanding and highly visible role that requires balancing continuing progress in crime reduction, organizational stability, and community expectations. The ideal candidate will be engaged and responsive—both internally and externally—while fostering a culture where employees feel supported, valued, and heard. With a wave of new talent joining the department, the next Chief will play a key role in mentoring the next generation of leaders and building a modern, sustainable workforce.

About the Community:

The City of Durham is located in the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina. The City of Durham is the County seat of Durham County. The City is grounded in research and development from the region's major research institutions, and many private and federal labs have fueled business and economic growth and have made the region a world leader in life sciences, information technology, and clean technology.

Consistently ranked among the top places to live, work, and play, Durham is a magnet for talent, which helps attract innovative companies working in high-growth industries. Durham has a national reputation as the "City of Medicine," and has long been known for world-class medical facilities, including top-ranked Duke University Medical Center, and an industry-leading pharmaceutical sector. The healthcare industry in Durham includes more than 300 medical and health-related companies and medical practices with a combined payroll that exceeds $1.2 billion annually.

Durham has become a hotspot for entrepreneurs and high-tech startups, propelled by the launch of American Underground, a startup incubator, and accelerator and the Durham Innovation District, a planned, mixed-use residential/retail/lab and workspace in Downtown Durham. Durham boasts a premier performing arts center and the Durham Bulls AAA baseball team. In addition to Duke University, Durham is home to North Carolina Central University, the nation's first public Historically Black College and University, now a major center for biotech and bio-manufacturing R&D, and Durham Technical Community College, a key partner in preparing a competitive workforce. Private investment is flourishing, redeveloping former tobacco and textile warehouses and historic buildings into exciting, mixed-use developments filled with diverse and popular housing options, restaurants, artist studios, retail spaces and small businesses.

The population of the City of Durham is 317,467 and vastly diverse. Current expectations are that the population is projected to grow by 30% by 2050. Centrally located, the City of Durham is a few hours' drive from the beautiful North Carolina coast to the East and the Appalachian Mountains to the West.

Duties/Responsibilities

About the Organization:

The City of Durham operates under a Council/Manager form of government. The City Manager along with four Deputy and Assistant Managers lead approximately 2800 employees working across 25 departments. The City's FY2025–26 budget totals $722 million, including a $326.5 million General Fund, with a property tax rate of 43.71 cents per $100 assessed budget prioritizes community safety, employee compensation, and core infrastructure, ensuring continued delivery of essential services, responsiveness to new demands, and responsible funding of voter-approved investments like the $200 million "Connect Durham" bond program. The City's day-to-day management and plan for future growth is managed by its Strategic Plan, which sets the strategic priorities for the community.

A 2024 Resident Survey indicates that 84% of respondents rated the city as an excellent or good place to live, 29.7% higher than the national average, and 79% rated the organization as a great place to work. Residents have particularly high levels of satisfaction with their quality of life, as well as with the quality of services that they receive as city residents. Initiatives in the strategic plan have set a high bar to increase those percentages over time and to achieve Council goals of: Shared Economic Prosperity, Creating a Safer Community Together, Connected, Engaged and Diverse Communities, Innovative & High Performing Organization, and Sustainable Natural and Built Environment.

The City prides itself on community engagement and offers multiple ways for the community to become involved and stay informed from 27 Advisory Boards and Commissions, to state of the art communication tools such as an open data Web platform, and social media, to community surveys. Learn more about the City of Durham here.

About the Department and Position:

The Durham Police Department serves with a focus on reducing crime, improving service delivery, and enhancing public safety. Guided by its vision to be a progressive law enforcement agency, the department emphasizes effective policing, high-quality service, and building public confidence while maintaining high standards across its operations.

The department is authorized for 531 sworn positions and currently employs 405 sworn officers, supported by 133 of 145 authorized civilian (non-sworn) positions and 54 part-time staff, reflecting ongoing recruitment needs. Organized into Patrol Services, Investigative Services, Administrative Services, and the Office of the Chief, the department supports a wide range of specialized units, including criminal investigations, community services, and emergency response teams. Learn more about the department here.

Reporting to the City Manager, the Chief of Police oversees a budget of over $93 million and leads a senior staff that includes three deputy chiefs, a Professional Standards Officer, an Executive Officer, and an Executive Assistant.

Key Position Priorities:

• Drive a robust recruitment and retention strategy, ensuring officers have the support and resources they need to thrive and maintain a healthy work-life balance within a resilient organizational culture.
• Assess and optimize the department's structure and operations to identify and leverage modern efficiencies, better align resources, and strengthen patrol capacity. This includes making strategic decisions about staffing, resource allocation, and service delivery while continuing progress on key initiatives such as technology improvements and the department's strategic plan.
• Champion a safer Durham by advancing proactive, intelligence-led strategies and fostering strong, unified alliances across the region.
• Foster a unified and collaborative environment where open communication and equitable accountability drive peak operational performance.
• Cultivate lasting community trust and expand external partnerships through proactive engagement, transparent communication, and a compelling narrative of the department's positive impact
• Lead the police department's participation in a community-based, city-wide violence reduction planning process, being managed by the city department of Community Safety.

Qualifications

Requires a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, public administration, or other relevant field, and 10 years of progressive law enforcement experience across functional areas such as patrol, internal affairs, administration, investigations, etc. to include six to seven years professional management or related experience in police administration including three to four years of related administrative supervisory experience. Must possess current advanced NC LE certification or be eligible to acquire. A master's degree and executive law enforcement training are preferred. Must have a valid NC driver's license or the ability to obtain a valid NC driver's license within 60 days of relocating to NC.

Transfers: In-state candidates may transfer their law enforcement officer certification to another agency in NC provided he/she has less than a 12-month break in service at time of appointment. In-state candidates with less than a three-year break in NC service may receive partial credit toward basic law enforcement training. Out of state candidates who are serving or have served as a local or state law enforcement officer must have successfully completed a basic law enforcement training course accredited by the state from which they are transferring and cannot have a break in full-time service exceeding three years at the time of appointment. Individuals with Federal law enforcement officer certification who have not had a break in service exceeding three years at the time of appointment may receive partial credit toward NC basic law enforcement training. NC does recognize and give partial credit for military police (MP) training if the candidate has completed a formal military basic training program and been awarded a military police occupational specialty rating and has served as a military police officer for not less than two of the five years preceding the date of appointment.

The Successful Candidate:

• Demonstrates confidence and command presence as a visible, decisive leader who can make tough decisions,

Chief Of Police

If you are a law enforcement executive who drives innovative public safety initiatives that lower crime rates and strengthen community trust through proactive data sharing and transparency, leads with confidence and command presence, can energize and grow a dedicated workforce while championing employee wellness and an engaged organizational culture, values input from staff, empowers subject matter experts, and fosters a culture where employees feel supported, heard, and accountable, builds trusted relationships with community stakeholders and diverse neighborhood groups—listening to different perspectives and identifying the path forward that best serves the community, the City of Durham is seeking a confident and adaptive executive to serve as its next Chief of Police at a critical point in the department's evolution. This is an opportunity to lead a CALEA-accredited, high-profile agency during a transformative era—growing and guiding a talented team through a shifting public safety landscape and shaping the future of policing in a premier North Carolina city.

The next Chief will step into a demanding and highly visible role that requires balancing continuing progress in crime reduction, organizational stability, and community expectations. The ideal candidate will be engaged and responsive—both internally and externally—while fostering a culture where employees feel supported, valued, and heard. With a wave of new talent joining the department, the next Chief will play a key role in mentoring the next generation of leaders and building a modern, sustainable workforce.

About the Community:

The City of Durham is located in the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina. The City of Durham is the County seat of Durham County. The City is grounded in research and development from the region's major research institutions, and many private and federal labs have fueled business and economic growth and have made the region a world leader in life sciences, information technology, and clean technology.

Consistently ranked among the top places to live, work, and play, Durham is a magnet for talent, which helps attract innovative companies working in high-growth industries. Durham has a national reputation as the "City of Medicine," and has long been known for world-class medical facilities, including top-ranked Duke University Medical Center, and an industry-leading pharmaceutical sector. The healthcare industry in Durham includes more than 300 medical and health-related companies and medical practices with a combined payroll that exceeds $1.2 billion annually.

Durham has become a hotspot for entrepreneurs and high-tech startups, propelled by the launch of American Underground, a startup incubator, and accelerator and the Durham Innovation District, a planned, mixed-use residential/retail/lab and workspace in Downtown Durham. Durham boasts a premier performing arts center and the Durham Bulls AAA baseball team. In addition to Duke University, Durham is home to North Carolina Central University, the nation's first public Historically Black College and University, now a major center for biotech and bio-manufacturing R&D, and Durham Technical Community College, a key partner in preparing a competitive workforce. Private investment is flourishing, redeveloping former tobacco and textile warehouses and historic buildings into exciting, mixed-use developments filled with diverse and popular housing options, restaurants, artist studios, retail spaces and small businesses.

The population of the City of Durham is 317,467 and vastly diverse. Current expectations are that the population is projected to grow by 30% by 2050. Centrally located, the City of Durham is a few hours' drive from the beautiful North Carolina coast to the East and the Appalachian Mountains to the West.

Duties/Responsibilities

About the Organization:

The City of Durham operates under a Council/Manager form of government. The City Manager along with four Deputy and Assistant Managers lead approximately 2800 employees working across 25 departments. The City's FY2025–26 budget totals $722 million, including a $326.5 million General Fund, with a property tax rate of 43.71 cents per $100 assessed budget prioritizes community safety, employee compensation, and core infrastructure, ensuring continued delivery of essential services, responsiveness to new demands, and responsible funding of voter-approved investments like the $200 million "Connect Durham" bond program. The City's day-to-day management and plan for future growth is managed by its Strategic Plan, which sets the strategic priorities for the community.

A 2024 Resident Survey indicates that 84% of respondents rated the city as an excellent or good place to live, 29.7% higher than the national average, and 79% rated the organization as a great place to work. Residents have particularly high levels of satisfaction with their quality of life, as well as with the quality of services that they receive as city residents. Initiatives in the strategic plan have set a high bar to increase those percentages over time and to achieve Council goals of: Shared Economic Prosperity, Creating a Safer Community Together, Connected, Engaged and Diverse Communities, Innovative & High Performing Organization, and Sustainable Natural and Built Environment.

The City prides itself on community engagement and offers multiple ways for the community to become involved and stay informed from 27 Advisory Boards and Commissions, to state of the art communication tools such as an open data Web platform, and social media, to community surveys. Learn more about the City of Durham here.

About the Department and Position:

The Durham Police Department serves with a focus on reducing crime, improving service delivery, and enhancing public safety. Guided by its vision to be a progressive law enforcement agency, the department emphasizes effective policing, high-quality service, and building public confidence while maintaining high standards across its operations.

The department is authorized for 531 sworn positions and currently employs 405 sworn officers, supported by 133 of 145 authorized civilian (non-sworn) positions and 54 part-time staff, reflecting ongoing recruitment needs. Organized into Patrol Services, Investigative Services, Administrative Services, and the Office of the Chief, the department supports a wide range of specialized units, including criminal investigations, community services, and emergency response teams. Learn more about the department here.

Reporting to the City Manager, the Chief of Police oversees a budget of over $93 million and leads a senior staff that includes three deputy chiefs, a Professional Standards Officer, an Executive Officer, and an Executive Assistant.

Key Position Priorities:

• Drive a robust recruitment and retention strategy, ensuring officers have the support and resources they need to thrive and maintain a healthy work-life balance within a resilient organizational culture.
• Assess and optimize the department's structure and operations to identify and leverage modern efficiencies, better align resources, and strengthen patrol capacity. This includes making strategic decisions about staffing, resource allocation, and service delivery while continuing progress on key initiatives such as technology improvements and the department's strategic plan.
• Champion a safer Durham by advancing proactive, intelligence-led strategies and fostering strong, unified alliances across the region.
• Foster a unified and collaborative environment where open communication and equitable accountability drive peak operational performance.
• Cultivate lasting community trust and expand external partnerships through proactive engagement, transparent communication, and a compelling narrative of the department's positive impact
• Lead the police department's participation in a community-based, city-wide violence reduction planning process, being managed by the city department of Community Safety.

Qualifications

Requires a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, public administration, or other relevant field, and 10 years of progressive law enforcement experience across functional areas such as patrol, internal affairs, administration, investigations, etc. to include six to seven years professional management or related experience in police administration including three to four years of related administrative supervisory experience. Must possess current advanced NC LE certification or be eligible to acquire. A master's degree and executive law enforcement training are preferred. Must have a valid NC driver's license or the ability to obtain a valid NC driver's license within 60 days of relocating to NC.

Transfers: In-state candidates may transfer their law enforcement officer certification to another agency in NC provided he/she has less than a 12-month break in service at time of appointment. In-state candidates with less than a three-year break in NC service may receive partial credit toward basic law enforcement training. Out of state candidates who are serving or have served as a local or state law enforcement officer must have successfully completed a basic law enforcement training course accredited by the state from which they are transferring and cannot have a break in full-time service exceeding three years at the time of appointment. Individuals with Federal law enforcement officer certification who have not had a break in service exceeding three years at the time of appointment may receive partial credit toward NC basic law enforcement training. NC does recognize and give partial credit for military police (MP) training if the candidate has completed a formal military basic training program and been awarded a military police occupational specialty rating and has served as a military police officer for not less than two of the five years preceding the date of appointment.

The Successful Candidate:

• Demonstrates confidence and command presence as a visible, decisive leader who can make tough decisions,

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