Solomon Crenshaw Jr. For The Birmingham Times Itâs uncommon to find five female captains serving in one police department, like Birmingham Police Department, said Lynda R. Williams, who knows a thing or two about law enforcement. Williams is a retired deputy assistant director of the U.S. Secret Service and a criminal justice administration professor at her alma mater Middle Tennessee State University. âEvery time we do something (with) statistical data, we see (female promotions to command positions) more often but it’s still a great challenge,â said Williams. âI think some of it has changed, just the culture that we’re in. It’s not as great an anomaly as it once was but to have five women in command in Birmingham, yeah, that’s still a major event.â