CHIEF JEFF DUDLEY
On November 1, 2009 Jeff Dudley was appointed Salem’s Chief of Police.
Chief Dudley began his employment with the Salem Police Department when he was just
19- years-old in May of 1977. He began as a dispatcher and a year later in April of 1978 he was sworn in as a police officer and assigned to the patrol division. In July of 1983, he was assigned to the detective division where he spent 6 years as a general investigator and crime scene technician.
He was promoted to Sergeant in April 1989 and assigned to the services division where he served on the planning committee that developed Salem Camp D.A.R.E. He would later serve as both assistant director and director of the camp.
Chief Dudley transferred to the patrol division as a Sergeant in 1991 where he was a first line supervisor until his promotion to Lieutenant in January 1994. He remained in this position until November 1, 1995 when he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Police, a post he maintained until being named the City’s Chief of Police.
Chief Dudley is a graduate of the 184th session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the 19th session of the Virginia Forensic Academy in Richmond. Over the years he has attended numerous police training schools and seminars in police management and investigative practices. His peers selected Dudley as Salem’s Police Officer of the Year in 1981.
A Roanoke County native, Jeff graduated from Northside High school and completed requirements for his AAS degree at Virginia Western Community College. In 1994, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in General Studies from Radford University, and in 2003 he garnered his Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Radford University, as well.
Although he is not actively flying at this time, Chief Dudley has his private pilot’s certificate that he earned in 2007.
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