Prince William's First Police Chief Passes Away

Image: Chief George T. Owens (PWCPD)

George T. Owens, the first chief of the Prince William County Police Department, passed away on Friday at the age of 85. He died at his home in Prince William of natural causes, the department announced.

Owens was named as the founding police chief at the department’s inception in July 1970. At that time, it comprised 40 officers, two commanders, eight dispatchers and two secretaries and had an annual budget of $750,000, according to a department statement.

When Owens retired in 1988, the department had grown to 268 officers, 74 civilian staff members, 95 part-time crossing guards and 22 animal control employees with an annual budget in excess of $16 million.

Owens "was influential in the guidance and success of the department through its growth," the statement added. He was succeeded by Chief Charlie T. Deane. Following his retirement, Owens remained a local resident and "was a pivotal figure in the county," the department said.

In 1988, Prince William County’s Public Safety Communications Center was dedicated to honor Owens.

He was born on Aug. 7, 1930, in Saranac Lake, N.Y., where he lived for 18 years. He is survived by Viola, his wife of more than 60 years, his daughter, three sons and eight grandchildren.

Tentative funeral arrangements for the chief are scheduled for Wednesday, March 23, the department said.

Prior to his service with Prince William County, Owens served in the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1953 and was stationed at the Vint Hill Farms Army base just outside of the county, where he attained the rank of corporal. He joined the Virginia State Police in June 1953, reaching the ranks of trooper, investigator and sergeant before leaving in 1970 to become the county’s police chief.

Owens was a graduate of the FBI National Academy and received Prince William County’s first “Manager of the Year” award in 1987. He was also a charter member of the Northern Virginia Crime Clinic and served as a deacon at the Dale City Baptist Church.

During his tenure as chief, the Prince William County Police Department in 1987 became the 55th fully accredited agency in the nation and the 11th in Virginia, according to the statement. That same year, the department received the Governor’s Community Crime Prevention award, the first ever issued to the department.