Hillsborough Police Chief Duane Hampton will retire after more than 14 years in the role, the town announced Tuesday morning.

Hampton’s last day of work will be Sunday, March 23, and the town will host a public reception for Hampton the following evening. After stepping down he will be moving to Virginia Beach, VA to become the city’s deputy director of community justice.

“Hillsborough has been exceptionally fortunate to have had fantastic leadership in its police department for almost 15 years,” said town manager Eric Peterson. “I’ve never seen a chief and officers in a police department display such a high level of commitment and engagement in serving a community on a daily basis as we have here in Hillsborough. While we hate to lose Chief Hampton, there are a lot of talented and dedicated officers and staff in the department who will ensure that momentum continues.”

“He’s been wildly successful in every measure, he’s the ideal police chief for a town like Hillsborough,” added Mayor Mark Bell in his weekly interview with 97.9 The Hill. “We’re sad to see him go, but it will be a gain for his next gig in Virginia Beach. We wish him well, he will be missed, and he has really just added so much to Hillsborough and our police staff. He’s done so much work organizing community summits, establishing fitness standards, and various programs.”

Retiring police chief Duane Hampton (Image via Town of Hillsborough)

Major Jason Winn will serve as interim police chief for “about nine months,” according to a release from the town, while a search for a full-time replacement is conducted.

Hampton was sworn in as Hillsborough’s police chief in November 2010 after serving more than 15 years with the Durham Police Department. He implemented several new practices during his tenure, including starting an alcohol law enforcement response team and establishing a fitness standard. In 2016, the Hillsborough Police Department received recognition from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund’s Destination Zero initiative for “providing the best officer traffic safety program in the country.”

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