At a press conference held in the north lobby of Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building on Tuesday, July 12, Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill announced that Tim Jones has been selected as Police Chief for the City of Roanoke.
Jones has been serving as Acting Police Chief since March 2016. This announcement culminates a four-month national search and recruitment process, which included gathering input from various organizations within the community and using a citizen interview panel with participants who reflect Roanoke’s diversity.
From the 42 applications received 11 finalists were selected. After video interviews, four candidates were invited for onsite interviews of which three were interviewed by the citizen panel, technical panel (which included Chief Kelvin Wright from the City of Chesapeake) and the city manager.
“I am pleased that after an extensive national search, we found the right candidate in our own department. Tim Jones has the professional experience, academic background, and deep knowledge of the community to lead the Roanoke Police Department during these challenging times. I look forward to working with Chief Jones as we continue to build a safer community through stronger relationships with our citizens and neighborhoods,” said Morrill.
Jones, a William Fleming High School graduate, holds a B.S. and M.S. in Criminal Justice from Radford University, and 35 years of progressive law enforcement experience. Since he came to work for the city in 1981as a patrol officer, he has been promoted through the ranks to hold positions including crime analyst, records sergeant, patrol sergeant, evening watch lieutenant, community policing – lieutenant, executive officer – lieutenant, patrol bureau captain, services deputy chief, operations deputy chief, deputy chief of investigative services, and acting police chief.
Jones’ professional affiliations include the Blue Ridge Chiefs of Police, Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, Professional Executive Leadership School Alumni Association, and the FBI National Academy Associates.
As Police Chief, Jones will direct the full activities of the Police Department staff of approximately 300 employees, of which 248 are sworn. He will also serve on the city’s Leadership Team and will serve as the city’s representative working to build stronger relationships with law enforcement agencies in the region and throughout the Commonwealth. Jones will begin serving as Police Chief effective immediately.
