Police Chief Jose Lopez Sr.

A Message from Police Chief Jose Lopez Sr.

Welcome to the Durham (N.C.) Police Department's Web site.

The Durham Police Department is an accredited police department with an authorized strength of 512 sworn police officers and a civilian staff of 119. It is an award-winning organization within an award-winning city. The Durham Police Department continues to be committed to the community policing philosophy. I believe in working in collaboration with residents to reduce crime and enhance the quality of life in our city. As a community, it is important for us to work together to reduce the root causes of crime such as poverty, substance abuse, lack of education and joblessness.

I have reorganized the department so that officers are able to work with their civilian support units to find better ways to identify and address issues in the community. Such efforts include operations which go “outside of the box” in order to abate crime. Realizing that most crime problems are regional, the Durham Police Department works closely with our local, state and federal law enforcement counterparts.

My department works hard to build a strong trust with the community. We have a professional organization filled with officers who truly care about their jobs and their community, and we will be held accountable for what we do. Our officers are proud of their police department and the community they serve.

We want to work with our residents so that they can feel safe in their homes and communities and to maintain confidence in our police force. Our efforts make the City of Durham a safe place to live, work, visit and shop.

Chief Lopez's History

Chief Lopez, 54, was officially sworn in as Durham's police chief on Sept. 4, 2007.

Chief Lopez was born in Brooklyn, New York. He joined the Hartford, Ct., Police Department in 1983 and retired as Assistant Chief. He had served as chief of detectives and chief of patrol.

Chief Lopez served in the U.S. Air Force as a Law Enforcement Specialist and was honorably discharged in 1980. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in police science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy 183rd Session and the Senior Management Institute for Police at Boston University. He is a recipient of the 2008 National Latino Peace Officers Association Chief’s Leadership Award.

He has been married to retired Hartford Police Officer Rebecca Lopez for 33 years and they have two grown children. The Lopez’s were sworn in by the Hartford Police on the same day in 1983. Chief Lopez is fluent in Spanish.

Chief Lopez is a proud Durham resident.