Vance Williams

Criminal Investigator

Vance Williams is a decorated Police Officer who joined the Office of the District Attorney for Gwinnett County in January 2023, as a Criminal Investigator, and has served as a Georgia Law Enforcement Officer for over 30 years.

In 1992, Vance Williams began his law enforcement career as a Corrections Officer with the City of Atlanta. He served as an Investigator, Inspector, and as a Sergeant. Williams worked directly in the supervision of detainees, the supervision of employees and the implementation of Corrections policies. Williams also investigated violations of policies and procedures as an Internal Affairs Investigator and Inspector.

In 2004, Williams left the Department of Corrections and served the citizens of Hapeville as a uniformed patrol officer with the City of Hapeville (Metro Atlanta) Georgia. Williams served as a SWAT Team Member and Hostage Negotiator, where he participated in numerous SWAT callouts and successfully negotiated surrenders on several critical barricade gunman situations. In 2008, Williams was promoted to Detective and investigated crimes ranging from petty larceny to murder. Williams also served as the police department’s Internal Affairs Investigator and Public Information Officer.

In 2010, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office recruited Williams as an Investigator in the Major Case/Homicide Unit. In this capacity Williams partnered with Senior District Attorneys and successfully prosecuted over one-hundred homicide cases. In 2011, Williams was promoted to Director of Investigations for the Major Case Unit where he supervised senior investigators, resulting in a ninety-eight percent conviction rates for all homicide trials in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit during his supervision.

In July 2014, Williams served the City of Atlanta for a second time when he returned to the Atlanta Department of Corrections as a Major over the Office of Professional Standards. In this capacity Williams supervised the Internal Affairs Unit and Background & Recruitment Section, as well as served as an executive member of the Command Staff, reporting directly to the Chief of the department. In his appointment (2016) to Deputy Chief, a direct report to the Chief of Corrections, Williams was the commander of the Detention Division, Background and Recruitment, and the Training Unit. In 2017, he was appointed to Assistant Chief of Corrections in Atlanta. Williams was also a notable speaker at the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies’ 2018 Executive Management conference beside the Commissioner of Atlanta Watershed management.

In 2019, the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance-Bottoms, appointed Williams to Interim Chief of Corrections. His commitments included development and implementation of departmental goals and objectives, overseeing the functions and operations of the department units assigned to him, and serving as the head commander of the department providing management, direction and practical leadership through planning and streamlined operations. He maintained full accountability for the responsibility to ensure that all staff (sworn & civilians) were operating within the guidelines of the department’s policies and procedures, while working to achieve the highest level of cooperation, enhancements in effectiveness and efficiency of all departments within the City of Atlanta. In efforts to make positive impacts in the community, he served as a Criminal Justice Reform panelist for two events: the visit of Kenyan Delegates in the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program and at the Atlanta Black/Jewish Coalition’s Advocacy event.

Williams made his way to Gwinnett County in May 2021, as a Criminal Investigator in the Solicitor General’s Office. There he served as the department’s General POST Instructor, Firearms Instructor, and Defensive Tactics Instructor. In the Solicitor’s Office, Williams was assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit, in which he investigated cases involving intimate partner violence.

In his current role, Williams is assigned to the Special Victims Unit in which he investigates sexual crimes including rape, child molestation, sex trafficking, sexual assault, and other felonies. In this Office, he also serves as one of the Firearms, Defensive Tactics, and General POST Instructors.

In addition to his career in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Williams is also a veteran of the United States Army. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1987 and served as a Military Policeman in Mannheim, West Germany until June 1990.

Williams is married to the love of his life and has two loving children.