Alfred H. Young was sworn in as Chief of Police on December 1, 1939. He had been employed by the State Employment Service, and was also a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Officer Reserve Corps. He had no previous police experience.
Young instituted several new practices – beginning in January of 1940, officers were required to submit a record of their daily activities to the desk sergeant. The following month, he set up a plan to overhaul the records kept by the department, an initiative staffed by WPA workers. He also made ongoing requests to have policewomen on staff once again, ideally two. Chief Young had only been in office a little more than a year when he was called up to active military duty, leaving for Fort Bragg on December 27, 1940. He did not resign his office at that time, however; even though it was uncertain how long he would be gone, Nat Warren became Acting Chief in his absence.
Although Chief Young had been granted a leave of absence during his wartime service, by May of 1941, the city felt they needed a more permanent solution. To that end, J. Winder Bryan was once again nominated to fill the role of Chief. They reasoned that, as the board of commissioners changed, a new Chief should be appointed by them.
At the end of World War II, Al Young remained in the Army, retiring in 1949. He eventually settled near Statesville, North Carolina, and passed away in 1969.