Willie Williams

Students at N.C. Central University can attend classes and know that the NCCU

Police Department is working hard to keep the campus safe for everyone.

At the head of the department is Chief Willie R. Williams, Sr., chief of security for NCCU.

Williams, originally from Wilson, N.C., began his career in Rocky Mount. He worked in Petersburg, Va. for three years and served as chief of police in Wilson for six years. He has a total of 34 years of experience in law enforcement.

Williams, who has served as NCCU’s chief of security since November 2006, says campus safety is the main goal of the NCCU Police Department.

“Our top priority is to provide a safe, courteous environment to students on campus,” said Williams.

He said he has not compared NCCU to other university campuses, but that compared to municipalities, NCCU has a low rate of reported violent incidents.

Nevertheless, Williams says that the University has plans for educational programs in the fall that will address campus violence, as well as educate students and faculty.

Williams also said the department plans to increase the visibility of the security guards on campus in an effort to further reduce campus violence.

When asked if he thought if the campus is safe, he said, “I personally feel that it is safe, but I want to make it safer.”

According to the NCCU web site, the Mission Statement of the NCCU Police Department states: “Campus security and safety can only be realized through an active partnership involving its officers, students, faculty, staff and the community-at-large.”

Williams says that the NCCU Police Department is meeting with students in order to make them more comfortable with the officers.

“We just want to become a friendly agency so that the students will feel comfortable with having us addressing their concerns,” said Williams. Chief Williams supervises a staff that includes 28 sworn police officers and 16 security officers.

There are currently vacancies in the department. Information about qualifications and benefits for a position as a campus police officer can be found on the NCCU Web site.

The site also contains information about alleged crimes that have occurred on campus, tips on how to stay safe while on campus and information about the various programs offered by the NCCU Police Department.