Borough Police Chief Eyes Senior Spot At University's Public Safety Department

Matthew Hersh

Borough Police Chief Charles Davall says he's not ready to put the badge away, but that after 25 years of serving the Borough, he would like to look at law enforcement from a new perspective. The veteran of a quarter century of local law enforcement has applied for the deputy director position at Princeton University's department of public safety.

At 47, Chief Davall is able to retire with a 65 percent state pension of his current salary of $123,000 per year.

But having held that office since July 2001, he said his strong ties to the University and his familiarity with town/gown relations encouraged his interest in the position.

"I've worked hard to establish relations with the eating clubs and other officials, and this position is something I strongly desire," he said, adding that a move for him would be good "personally and professionally."

Citing other aspects of law enforcement he could explore, Chief Davall said the University spot would give him an opportunity to fulfill other things on his "to do" list when it came to his professional aspirations.

Chief Davall said he is only one of about 85 "able" candidates to have applied for the position.

"I'm sure there are many highly-qualified people in the mix, and I don't take that lightly," he said.

However, his understanding of community and University affairs would seem to give Chief Davall somewhat of an advantage. The vacant post is second only to Steven Healy, the public safety director who joined the department last year.

Chief Davall added that in the past year he and Mr. Healy have built a rapport that "one would expect between Borough chief and University chief."

"We've had a strong working relationship since Healy took over," he said.

Another benefit would be the chance to continue serving the community, but in a different capacity, he said, making clear that the University job is the only one for which he's applied since considering his retirement.

Chief Davall joined Princeton Borough Police on January 1, 1980. The University's Mr. Healy has said that he anticipates having a deputy chief in place by January 3.