Police Chief

Salary: See Position Description
Location : Statesboro, GA
Job Type: Full-Time
Department: Police Department
Opening Date: 07/07/2026
Closing Date: 8/6/2026 11:59 PM Eastern
FLSA: Exempt
Work Schedule: See Position Description


Public Servants Making A Difference!

Whether you are just starting your career or you're an experienced professional, the City of Statesboro offers a variety of career opportunities with its many departments and divisions. As an employee of the City, the work you do will directly benefit the citizens of Statesboro. So why not join our team and make a difference in your community?

Description
The City of Statesboro, Georgia, is seeking an exceptional, progressive, and highly collaborative law enforcement leader to serve as its next Chief of Police. This is an extraordinary opportunity to lead a dedicated, state-certified law enforcement agency in a vibrant, rapidly growing university community that has experienced a steady decade-long decrease in major crimes. The ideal candidate will be a visionary professional who excels in community-oriented policing, possesses outstanding communication skills, and is deeply committed to mentoring and developing a young, talented police force.


Statesboro's next Chief of Police is a resilient and compassionate law enforcement professional who possesses the following attributes:

• Grounded Street Experience: A solid foundation in traditional field operations (Patrol and Investigations) with demonstrable experience and implementation of best practices in rapid response situations such as critical roadside decisions and homicide investigations.
• Facilitative, "Walk-the-Talk" Leadership : A humble and authentic executive who sets a high standard of personal and professional integrity. Someone who delegates effectively, gives Captains the latitude to lead their bureaus, and supports staff through honest mistakes while holding them accountable to high standards.
• High Emotional Intelligence & Keen Problem-Solver : An exceptional communicator who remains calm under pressure, listens actively, and can navigate public criticism and modern social media narratives transparently and professionally.
• Government Team Player : A leader who recognizes that the police department is part of a larger city team, demonstrating a willingness to collaborate unselfishly with a diverse group of stakeholders including other city directors, staff, city leaders and the community at-large.
• Cultural & Historical Awareness: A deep understanding of the historical complexities of law enforcement interactions with diverse populations and a demonstrated commitment to visible, inclusive public leadership.

About the Community:

Founded in 1803 and serving as the county seat for Bulloch County,Statesboro is a dynamic municipality that serves as the economic and cultural hub of its region. Recognized as a finalist in America's Best Communities Competition and with its downtown named a Renaissance City by Georgia Trend magazine, Statesboro offers a high standard of living committed to inclusive, high-quality public services.

While the permanent city population stands at approximately 35,000 residents, the daytime population frequently swells to 100,000 or more due to a massive influx of students, workers, and visitors. Statesboro is proudly home to Georgia Southern University (GS), which hosts over 20,000 students and injects a unique, energetic social dynamic into the area, giving residents front-row access to collegiate sports, world-class lecture series, and diverse cultural arts.


Located just 45 miles from Savannah, the region is currently experiencing a historic economic boom, fueled in part by its proximity to the new Hyundai manufacturing mega-plant, which is driving substantial residential subdivision development and business expansion across the city. Statesboro is a diverse, majority-minority community with highly engaged residents. The community offers an exceptional quality of life, combining a rich Southern heritage and active neighborhood associations with the progressive amenities of a major university town.


Statesboro's tight-knit connection is reflected in the city's thriving tradition of community events-ranging from interactive municipal town halls to popular, family-centric gatherings like "Pizza with Police" nights and holiday trick-or-treating at the Police Department. Residents of Statesboro enjoy a wealth of recreational and wellness opportunities that enrich daily life for all demographics. The city's dedicated Parks Division and active environmental initiatives, such as "Keep Statesboro-Bulloch Beautiful," ensure access to beautifully maintained public spaces, neighborhood greenways, and robust athletic programs.


About the Organization, Department and Position:

The City of Statesboro operates under a highly professional council-manager form of government, where the democratically elected Mayor and City Council appoint a professional City Manager to direct day-to-day municipal operations. Statesboro's annual FY2027 budget of $111.3M supports a dedicated workforce of 360 full-time employees who are passionately driven by the city's mission: to provide the most responsive and progressive public services so that residents, businesses, and visitors can enjoy the highest quality of life the region has to offer. Employees function in alignment with a unified vision to build a vibrant, safe, and inclusive community, prioritizing organizational values such as integrity, innovation, stewardship, and remaining explicitly mission focused.

The Statesboro Police Department (SPD) operates with a mission to create a safe community by reducing crime, building trust, and ensuring public safety within the framework of the United States Constitution. The department is structured into three primary bureaus-Patrol, Operations, and Administration-each under the direct leadership of an experienced Captain.


Reporting directly to the City Manager, the Chief of Police provides strategic direction, administration, and leadership for all operations of the department, directing and overseeing all uniform patrol, criminal investigations, and administrative bureaus. The Chief of Police develops and manages the department's $13M budget and leads the department's team of 79-full time authorized sworn staff and 20 full-time civilian staff. Statesboro's Chief of Police is tasked with formulating, updating, and implementing departmental policies, procedures, and best practices.
SPD is highly respected for its professional standards and has maintained an excellent track record of solving major crimes through its experienced, team-oriented Criminal Investigations Division. The agency has successfully leveraged grant funding to implement cutting-edge technology, including modern drone programs and widespread camera networks. Employee morale is high, supported by excellent equipment, a K-9 unit, an employee-favored work schedule bidding system, and an established Police Foundation that provides additional support to the workforce.

Examples of Duties

• Establish Trusting Relationships & Enhance Interagency Collaboration: Intentionally listen to internal staff and establish visible trust across all six shifts while proactively building collaborative relationships with the city's eight neighboring law enforcement agencies, Bulloch County Sheriff's Office, Georgia Southern University Police, and state/federal partners.
• Employee Retention: Collaborate with City Administration and Human Resources to ensure employee retention strategies are implemented so highly skilled employees are retained.
• Recruitment & Leadership Succession Planning: Prioritize mentoring and preparing the next generation of supervisors while actively recruiting to enhance the department and strategically planning for a wave of senior command-staff retirements over the next 3-5 years.
• Inclusive Community Policing & Crisis Protocol Enhancement: Lead efforts to enhance specialized training for interacting with vulnerable populations, including adults and children in mental health crises or individuals with special needs, such as Autism.
• Data-Driven Crime Prevention: Implement proactive, data- informed strategies (with the utilization of the department's robust technological infrastructure) to target emerging local challenges, including gang activity and juvenile property crimes.

Minimum Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, Public Administration, or a closely related field is required. A master's degree is strongly preferred due to the academic nature of the university community.
• Must have ten (10) years of increasingly responsible law enforcement experience to include patrol, criminal investigations, supervision and top departmental management, including 5 or more years of increasingly responsible management experience at the rank of Captain or higher; or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
• Graduation from a premier national or regional leadership academy-such as the FBI National Academy, Northwestern Center for Public Safety, Southern Police Institute, or Command College is highly preferred.
• Must possess or be able to readily obtain a valid State of Georgia driver's license. Must fully meet or be capable of meeting all current certification requirements set forth by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council.
• Residency within the city limits of Statesboro, GA is preferred for this position.

For those without GA certification: The Equivalency of Training (EOT) process may allow an officer who does not possess a GA POST basic law enforcement certification to be exempt from having to complete the entire basic law enforcement training course. Please refer to the GA POST website for more information. Types of officers who may be eligible for the EOT process:

• Out-of-State Police Officers who have graduated from their states Uniform Police Academy and their certification is valid and in good standing;
• Federal Peace Officers who have graduated from the FLETC Uniformed Police Training Program (UPTP), Mixed Basic Police Training Program (MBPTP), or the equivalency of training.
• United States Military Police Officers (Army, Air Force, and Marines) who have graduated from their branches Basic Military Police Course and possess a minimum of a general discharge under honorable conditions;
• Graduates of the Department of Defense (DOD) Uniformed Police Training Program.

The Successful Candidate:

• Serves as an honest law enforcement scholar who grounds critical decisions, strategic policies, and public conversations firmly in objective facts and best practices rather than emotion;
• Demonstrates extensive experience in respectful, transparent community engagement; remains highly visible and accessible to the public to maintain open dialogue in the face of sensitive issues and an ongoing willingness to educate residents;
• Leads with strategy and adaptability, demonstrating the ability to approach complex public safety challenges creatively while taking time to understand Statesboro's culture, relationships, and organizational environment before implementing significant change;
• Is politically astute and collaborative, able to work effectively with City Council, the City Manager, judges, community organizations, and regional partners while advocating for the department and balancing competing community interests; and,
• Balances effectively operational demands, organizational change, community expectations, and budget realities while pursuing partnerships, funding opportunities, and long-term organizational sustainability.

Additional Information
Salary and Benefits :


The salary range for the position is $125,000 to $155,000. Starting salary is dependent on qualifications and experience. The City of Statesboro provides a comprehensive benefits portfolio including health and dental insurance, flexible spending account, robust retirement package, end of the year bonuses, and a health clinic and fitness center for employees and their dependents. View more of the city's excellent wellness-focused benefits


To apply, please visit and click on the Chief of Police - City of Statesboro, GA title.

• All applications must be submitted online via the Developmental Associates application portal (link above) - NOT the city's employment application portal or any other external website.
• Resumes and cover letters must be uploaded with the application.
• Applicants should apply by August 6, 2026 .
• Successful semi-finalists will be invited to participate in virtual interviews and skill evaluation interviews on September 2-3, 2026 . Candidates are encouraged to reserve these dates for virtual meetings should they be invited to participate.
• Direct inquiries to

Equal Opportunity Statement
The City of Statesboro is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Statesboro will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with eligible disabilities (unless the disability precludes performance of the essential functions of the position).
The City of Statesboro is a drug-free workplace.
The City of Statesboro participates in E-Verify.
The City of Statesboro offers the following comprehensive benefits package to full-time employees and their families:

• Health Insurance - The Platinum Plan and Gold Plan (PPO Plans offered through Anthem BCBS) are offered at very reasonable rates.
• Dental - City-paid dental insurance is provided through Anthem BCBS.
• Vision - An annual exam and materials benefit (frames/lenses or contacts) are provided through EyeMed.
• Retirement - Employees contribute 3% pretax and the City of Statesboro contributes 9%. Employees are vested after five years of service. Non-public safety employees are eligible for full retirement after 30 years of service. Public safety employees are eligible for full retirement at 55 years of age and 25 years of service.
• 457(b) Deferred Compensation Program - Through Nationwide, employees can set aside additional pre-tax / post-tax money towards retirement through investing contributions in the stock market.
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Employees can set aside pre-tax dollars to assist with qualifying medical expenses or dependent daycare expenses.
• Life Insurance - Basic life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance in the amount of one times salary rounded up to the next thousand dollars is provided at no cost to the employee. Also, basic dependent life insurance at $10,000 is provided for covered family members.
• Voluntary Term Life Insurance - New employees are guaranteed at least $150,000 (not to exceed five times their annual salary). Employees are offered up to $50,000 of spouse life insurance and $10,000 of dependent life insurance.
• Long-Term Disability - City-paid long-term disability insurance pays 50% of the employee's salary if the employee is out of work for 90 days due to sickness.
• Short-Term Disability - Employees can select short-term disability insurance and receive 66.67% of their salary if they are out of work for seven or more days.
• Holidays - Employees receive 12 days of holiday pay annually.
• Vacation and Sick Leave - New employees earn 80 hours of vacation leave and 96 hours of sick leave annually.
• Health Center - Employees and their families (if the families are covered by the City's health insurance plan) receive complimentary access to the health center. The center provides medical access for routine checkups, urgent care needs, and chronic condition management.
• Fitness Center - Employees and their families receive complimentary access to the fitness center on a 24/7 basis annually. The center is staffed with an athletic trainer and personal trainers.
• Employee Assistance Program - Employees and their families receive complimentary services including counseling and legal services through Support Linc.

Part-time employees who work an average of 30 hours per week over the course of a year, receive benefits on a pro-rated basis.