Article
The Handoff Is the Job: What Charleston's Chief Transition Teaches About Succession
What happened
On Thursday, October 22, Jason Webb was sworn in as chief of the Charleston (W.Va.) Police Department. He took over from Chief Scott Dempsey, who retired the same day. Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin had announced the pick on October 9, so the department had almost two weeks’ notice of who was next.
Webb is a deputy chief with two decades in uniform. In announcing him, the mayor said that when the city chose its previous chief, “I wasn’t just thinking about who would lead the department then. I was also thinking about its future.” She credited Dempsey with record low crime numbers, better recruitment and work on the transition toward a new Public Safety Center.
At his swearing-in, Webb was candid: “A little nervous, a little excited. Can’t wait to get started.” He named his priorities as new technology, modern policing tactics, recruitment and retention, and “honest, open communication with the community.” WSAZ reported that he was already reaching out to pastors, community organizers and council members.
Sources: - WSAZ, “Charleston names next police chief” (Oct. 9, 2026): https://www.wsaz.com/2026/10/09/charleston-names-next-police-chief/ - WSAZ, “New Charleston police chief is sworn in” (Oct. 22, 2026): https://www.wsaz.com/2026/10/22/new-charleston-police-chief-is-sworn/
Leadership changes at the top rarely make national news. They should get more attention from us, though, because most organizations lose momentum, people and trust during them. Charleston made it look routine, and getting it to look that way takes a lot of work.
Principle 1: Succession is a strategy, not an emergency
The most telling line in this story is the mayor’s. She was thinking about the next chief while choosing the current one. That is succession planning in plain language. Too many of us treat succession as an HR event that starts the day someone turns in retirement papers. By then, all you can do is react.
Bench strength gets built years ahead of time. It comes from rotating people through assignments, putting them in rooms above their pay grade and letting them make real decisions while you’re still there to coach them. If you can’t name two people who could do your job next year, you don’t have a plan yet.
Principle 2: Continuity and change aren’t opposites
Webb is an inside hire, but he isn’t promising more of the same. He’s talking about technology, tactics and staffing. The best internal successors honor what worked and still bring a clear agenda of their own. Continuity keeps your people steady, and change keeps the agency from going stale.
For anyone stepping into a top job: say out loud what you’ll keep. Your people are watching to find out whether the things they’re proud of will survive the new boss. Once they know that, they’ll follow you into the things you want to change.
Principle 3: Start building trust before you need it
Before his first big decision, Webb was already calling pastors, organizers and council members. That’s the right order. You make relationships in calm conditions so they hold up during a crisis. I see the same thing in a hospital setting, where the time to meet the ED director, the nursing supervisors and the risk manager is long before a violent incident on a unit.
His remarks about pride matter as well. He wants officers to look back on their careers as “the best part of my life.” Retention starts with culture, and a chief who says that on day one understands where to begin.
Practical takeaways for leaders
- Name your successors, even privately. Write down two or three people who could step into your role and what each still needs to develop. Review the list every year.
- Give your bench real reps. Let deputies and lieutenants run meetings, brief executives and own projects from start to finish. Shadowing alone doesn’t prepare anyone.
- Announce early and plan the overlap. Charleston’s two weeks between announcement and swearing-in cut down on rumors and gave people time to adjust. Get the transition timeline out as soon as you can.
- Use the first 30 days to listen. Meet staff, partners and critics before you roll out anything big. Make a list of what you’ll keep as well as what you’ll change.
- Map your external stakeholders now. In healthcare security, that list includes clinical leaders, facilities, compliance and local agencies. Call them this week, before you need anything from them.
- Treat pride as part of operations. Recruitment and retention numbers come from how people feel about the work. Measure it, talk about it and protect it.
The bottom line
How a leader leaves matters as much as how they lead. Dempsey’s exit was planned, and Webb took over on day one already working on relationships. Wherever you are in your career, at some point you’ll be either the person handing off or the person taking over. Start getting ready for that now.
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