Durham Moves To Next Step In Police Chief Search

DURHAM, NC – Now that the application period has closed for Durham’s next police chief, City Manager Wanda Page, along with the firm leading the search, Developmental Associates, LLC, have selected 11 out of 42 applications received from all over the country to proceed to the next step in the process. The position of Police Chief became available when former Durham Police Chief Cerelyn J. (C.J.) Davis left in June of this year to become the chief of the Memphis Police Department. 

These 11 applicants will now undergo a more extensive process that includes a telephone screening and writing exercise conducted by Development Associates over the next two weeks. Based on those responses, the top three to five candidates will then be selected to participate in structured interviews, called an assessment center, scheduled for early-to-mid September.

Meetings with police department staff and the public will be scheduled and announced in September as well. The City is still on track with the recruitment process and the timeline as shown on the City’s website, with the goal of having the position offered by late September or early October, and the selected candidate possibly starting by late November.

Open forums in English and Spanish were held virtually earlier this year, and an online survey was posted on the City’s website to obtain feedback on the characteristics the community hopes to see in Durham’s next police chief.  There were 608 responses to the survey, which was also available in Spanish.

To view recordings of the forums and the search timeline, visit the Durham Police Chief Search webpage.