Chief’s Message

VISION STATEMENT

To work in partnership with the citizens of Williamsburg, providing a safe and secure environment consistent with community values, with an emphasis on responsive community-based policing, integrity, fairness, and professionalism.

CHIEF'S MESSAGE

Community policing is not simply a goal of the Williamsburg Police Department. It is a philosophy that drives our day-to-day operations, propels our programming and policies, and encourages us to think of new approaches to policing so that the community feels safe, feels involved, and feels valued.

This 2020 Annual Report is an example of our commitment to adapting to the community’s needs so that we are continually earning our community’s trust. We heard the demands for increased transparency nationwide and locally after the senseless death of George Floyd. We want you to be involved in your police department’s operations, and we recognize that we can better engage with you by providing this data and information. We encourage you to visit williamsburgva.gov/crimestatistics to find links to more data and resources that allow you to compare our performance alongside other Virginia localities.

There is no community policing without the community. We need residents to help us better define what our service to families and neighborhoods should look like. And let me assure you, we are listening. This year, we are forming a Police Chief’s Citizen Advisory Committee, a diverse group of residents who will offer their input on policing in Williamsburg. I look forward to highlighting their work in the 2021 Annual Report.

We accomplished a lot in 2020, as you will see in the following pages, and I am grateful to the community for their continued input and support.

Sincerely, Sean L. Dunn Chief of Police