Town of Navassa discusses shortage of police officers

"There are a lot of things he needs to be aware of because we're a small town, and we don't have many resources that other towns have to worry about."

BRUNSWICK COUNTY (WWAY)– Navassa town council met Thursday night and spent a lot of time talking about the town’s police force.

Mayor Ellis Willis says the town’s police department usually has five officers and a chief. According to Police Chief Dale Thomas, Navassa experienced more than 800 incidents in the town in 2024, and they need additional officers to help with the town’s growing population.

In response to allegations that Navassa’s Chief of Police only worked 12 days out of the year in 2024, Mayor Willis says that’s not true. He says Chief Thomas was actively on duty every day. With a small police force, the mayor says the chief was in-house most of the time doing administrative work for the police department.

“No. That’s not true. He works full-time,” Willis said. “Because of our size, they want day-to-day officer contact. Now, they may not see him patrolling up and down the road, but then he has the administrative things he needs to do. There are a lot of things he needs to be aware of because we’re a small town, and we don’t have many resources that other towns have to worry about.”

Mayor Willis says they’re looking to fill three vacant officer positions. In the meantime, Willis says the town is getting extra help from the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office.