Establishment
As our city has a very interesting history, so does our organization. In 1898, the Town Council employed its first police officer, Officer S.B. Shumate. By day, he was the town’s carpenter, and once his work as a carpenter was done, he spent his time policing the town.

The town began to grow and more businesses opened, which also increased the population. Therefore, the Town Council saw fit to add an additional three officers, and in 1932, the town manager named Officer Shumate as the town’s first chief of police. Since that beginning, the police department has had nine chiefs of police, including the current chief.

Over the years, the Town of Waynesboro was incorporated and became an independent city. As the city grew to its current size, so did the police department. Today, 49 sworn men and women serve and protect the citizens of Waynesboro, supported by a great staff of civilians. The department has evolved into a modern agency with advanced procedures, equipment, and technology that provides up-to-date professional policing. We consider our most valuable resource to be our employees.

Our Commitment
The Waynesboro Police Department is committed to enhancing Waynesboro’s quality of life by providing exemplary law enforcement services in partnership with our residents and businesses. We treasure our good reputation and relationship with the community and work to maintain it through proper actions. We are committed to providing an atmosphere of safety and well-being for everyone in the community. We are also committed to selecting and retaining honest, loyal, dependable, hard-working employees with good critical thinking skills.

We consider the needs of the employees, consistent with the needs of the department, and the needs of the community, in every decision we make. We value our jobs in the pursuit to fulfill a passion and a desire of helping people and making our community a safer place to live, work, and play.