Chief Tom Davis had been Chief of Police for Laurinburg, North Carolina, prior to being hired to fill that position with the Raleigh Police Department. The department had been under fire, with accusations of corruption and inefficiency. Chief Davis quickly began instituting changes within the department, beginning by requesting that two officers study police departments in Greensboro and Winston Salem in order to inform reorganization plans. He also altered holiday schedules to allow for officers to have more days off, raised salaries for new officers, and began a policy of rotating shifts for officers. Not all were receptive to the changes; there were many resignations early on.
Chief Davis reorganized the Raleigh Police Department in March of 1953, creating four divisions: patrol, traffic, detective, and records, communication, and training. Patrol was further divided into three shifts, and traffic and detective into two. Furthermore, officers might be moved between divisions to better familiarize them with the workings of each. Chief Davis hoped his efforts would improve police recruitment, as he felt that newer officers were sometimes stuck with night duty long term.
In August of 1953, Chief Davis banned blackjacks and brass knuckles from use by Raleigh police, additionally warning officers not to use any weapon not issued by the department. The Chief had previously been working on standardizing equipment issued to officers, declaring that when he was first hired, “there was only one pair of handcuffs in the police department.” He declared that he hoped to begin issuing wooden nightsticks to officers. Some officers threatened to resign over the ban.
After a slightly rocky start, Chief Davis continued to work on growing and improving the police department. During his tenure as Chief, Davis also completed a Bachelor of Science degree in recreation at North Carolina State University, graduating in January of 1958. By 1960, the department had grown from 103 members to 139, and had been moved into a newly-finished City Hall.
Chief Davis remained in office until 1971. He died suddenly of a heart attack on September 23, 1971, at the age of 54. He was survived by his wife and three sons, and buried on Raleigh Memorial Park.