GREENSBORO— A new chief, but a familiar face: after more than two decades, Wayne Scott is now leading the police force in Greensboro.
“It’s unique in today’s government for a patrol officer to make it all the way through the ranks to chief. I feel blessed," said Chief Wayne Scott, of the Greensboro Police Department.
It is a journey that Scott has taken over 24 years of service.
“Every item, every tool we're issued has changed since I've been here," said Scott. "We carry a different weapon, chemical agent, handcuffs, radio. Those technological changes occurred pretty quickly."
Before even considering a career in law enforcement, Scott left college and began working as a photographer at a professional studio and local papers covering crime. It's that interaction with law enforcement that piqued his interest in becoming a police officer.
“I had the opportunity to go out and see law enforcement and public safety doing their job," said Scott. "I met a recruiting officer for Greensboro and the rest is history.”
Scott entered the academy in 1991. Since then, he's held various titles, patrolman, sergeant, lieutenant and captain, and eventually deputy police chief, a position he held from 2012 until last month. Now chief, Scott said he hopes to help build more trust with the community, especially during a time when relationships between police and the public are strained nationwide.
“I hope when I retire and I leave here that we'll look at these years as years of growth, that the department made progress in those areas that we needed to, like building trust, making sure crime stays under control," said Scott. "I want our community to become a stronger partner with us."
Scott also hopes to make the department more diverse, assign every officer their own body camera and work to lower domestic crime through a family justice center set to open in June or July.
The department held a national search for a new chief, coming up with 44 candidates. Scott was in the final two with Danielle Outlaw, a deputy chief out of Oakland, California.