Raleigh City aldermen elected to appoint James M. Norwood to Chief of Police on May 12, 1897, with Charles Heartt as Assistant Chief.  This decision was met with a great deal of concern – it was a demotion for Heartt, who had previously served as chief, and many Raleigh citizens felt it was an insult to him.  Norwood’s qualifications for the job were also questioned, as were the dismissals of several police officers seen as both experienced and proficient at their jobs.  The changes were seen as largely political, and therefore resented by many.
Chief Norwood’s early days of office seemed fairly quiet, with newspapers mentioning some confusion regarding blue laws and what could and could not be sold on Sundays.  In August of 1897, however, he was briefly suspending for releasing a prisoner prematurely, while habeus corpus were still proceedings were still ongoing.  Norwood claimed he was unaware of this.  (The man was rearrested soon after, but the Mayor stated that the Chief did not have the power to release him; a judicial order was required.)  In a trial held in October, Chief Norwood was found not guilty, with the judge declaring the Chief had acted “wisely and prudently.”
In November of the same year, two sergeants were added to the department, one for the day shift and one for night.  They were to organize patrols and other day-to-day activities, and be supervised by the Chief.  This was a change from officers reporting directly to the chief.  Officer Junius Mullen was chosen as one sergeant by the Board of Aldermen, although the selection of the second was postponed.
Chief Norwood’s yearly report, printed in the newspapers in April of 1898, stated that the department had increased in efficiency during the year.  The current force consisted of the chief, two sergeants, two turnkeys (jailers), 12 officers, and a sanitary officer.  Arrests had gone up, from 989 in 1896, to 1,359.
James Norwood remained in officer through May of 1899, when Junius Mullen was elected to replace him.  Norwood returned to an active role in his cigar manufacturing business; his brother had been filling a supervisory role for the previous two years.