Chief Luke Williams was appointed Chief of Pinellas County Schools Police on March 1, 2018. Before arriving at the district, he was an Assistant Chief at St. Petersburg Police Department, assigned to the Uniform Services Bureau where he commanded more than 400 employees. Chief Williams served with the St. Petersburg Police Department for 33 years; the last 18 of those as an Assistant Chief.
Chief Williams commanded the Investigative Services Bureau from 2000 to 2006 and was responsible for the oversight of all criminal investigations conducted by the St. Petersburg Police Department. Beginning in 2006, he commanded the Uniform Services Bureau, the largest of the three bureaus, where he served for 11 years. In addition to all Patrol related functions, he was responsible for the oversight of the Uniform Support Division, Community Policing and Crime Prevention, Field Training, K-9, the Traffic Enforcement Unit, Volunteer Road Patrol, School Resource Officers, School Crossing Guards, Special Events Coordination, and Volunteer Police Reserves.
Chief Williams enjoys an outstanding working relationship with all local law enforcement leaders, district employees and administrators. It is through these relationships that he has been able to create and implement safety measures, coupled with technological hardware and software advances aimed at keeping all students and staff safe. His activities in these areas have allowed the Pinellas County School District to remain in compliance with the laws and best practices brought about by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. Under his leadership, the Pinellas County Schools Police department has grown from less than 40, to over 170 employees.
Chief Williams holds a Master of Arts degree in Criminal Justice Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology from the University of South Florida. He also has an Associate of Arts degree from St. Petersburg College. Chief Williams is a graduate of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Senior Management Institute for Police (Boston), the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute Chief Executive Seminar, the Leadership St. Pete Leadership Program, the Eckerd College Leadership Development Program, the John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University, and the 222nd Class of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy at Quantico, Virginia.
A lifelong resident of the City of St. Petersburg, Chief Williams maintains a close connection with the community. He currently serves on the boards of the Community Health Centers of Pinellas County, and the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg. In 2013, he was appointed the Chairman of the Department of Juvenile Justice Circuit VI Advisory Board. His volunteer and mentoring activities are numerous and have spanned his entire career. In 2011, he co-created the Men in the Making Mentoring and Role Modeling program which has impacted the lives of over 500 elementary, middle, and high school students by exposing them to activities and events they may not normally have an opportunity to attend. He and his fellow mentors then assist the students academically by having them write about their experiences, check grades and behavior and partner with the parents and guardians in pursuit of the students’ academic success.
Chief Williams received the University of South Florida Department of Criminology’s Outstanding Ambassador Award, the NAACP Community Service Award, the University of South Florida Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Leadership St. Pete Outstanding Alumni Award. He served as the 2004 Chairperson for Leadership St. Pete, was the 1996 St. Petersburg Police Department Officer of the Year Award recipient, received the National Forum for Black Public Administrators Recognition Award, and the Police Athletic League’s Ed Schatzman Circle of Excellence Award. He received the Outstanding Service Award and the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Community Award from the Pinellas County Urban League. He is a recipient of the Key to the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Key to Pinellas County for his service and dedication to the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County as a whole.
He is an avid fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a member of the Theta Eta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
