Chief Jim Williams was appointed to the position of Chief of Police on July 1, 2003. Chief Williams began his career with the Staunton Police Department as a police officer in September of 1984. During his career, he was promoted to the rank of Corporal, Sergeant, and Captain, serving as shift commander, investigations unit commander, team leader of the Critical Incident Response Team, and Division Commander of the Community Involvement/Support Operations division.

Williams received a Master of Science degree in criminal justice from Virginia Commonwealth University in May of 1995. He is a graduate of the 183rd session of the FBI National Academy, the FBI’s regional Law Enforcement Executive Development seminar (LEEDS) and the 47th session of the Senior Management Institute for Police. Chief Williams serves as an adjunct instructor of criminal justice courses at Blue Ridge Community College and Mary Baldwin University.

Chief Williams received the Award for Valor from the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police in August of 1993 and was named Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the Staunton Moose Lodge in September of 1999. In July of 2018, he received the Egon Bittner award from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

Williams is a Past President of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and currently serves as the Vice Chair of the State Associations of Chiefs of Police division of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In addition, he was appointed by Governor Northam in 2019 and served as the Chair of the Criminal Justices Services Board for the Commonwealth of Virginia.