Andalusia Police Chief Wilbur Williams has announced plans to retire, effective Dec. 1, Mayor Earl Johnson confirmed Thursday.

Williams has served as chief for the past 13 years.

Johnson said he anticipates that the city will conduct a search to find a new chief, much as it did when Williams was hired. He said he expects to name an interim chief while the search process is ongoing.

During his tenure here, Williams has been active in the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police and served as the organization’s president. He also spearheaded the effort to build a law enforcement training facility, which was later named in his honor.

Before taking the Andalusia job in late 2000, Williams served as a major and division commander in the Mobile Police Department, where he had worked for 25 years in a number of roles, including supervising the homicide unit.

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice administration, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., and worked as a criminal justice instructor at both the University of South Alabama, Bishop State Community College and Faulkner University.