GOVERNOR STEIN APPOINTS ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF CHARLES BLACKWOOD CHAIR OF CRIME COMMISSION
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Hillsborough, NC (March 11, 2025) – This week, Governor Josh Stein appointed Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood as the chair of the 44-member Governor’s Crime Commission. The Commission’s mission is to improve the quality of life for North Carolinians, enhance public safety, and reduce and prevent crime by improving the criminal justice system.
Blackwood began his career in 1980 as a uniform patrol deputy, and rose through the ranks, retiring in 2012. Elected in 2014, he became the 47th Sheriff of Orange County and is currently in his third term of office.
In 2017, former governor Roy Cooper originally appointed Blackwood to the Governor’s Crime Commission. The Commission is a multi-disciplinary group that serves as the chief advisory body to the governor and to the secretary of the Department of Public Safety on crime and justice issues. Crime commission members also review grant applications from law enforcement agencies, governmental bodies, and non-profit agencies and make recommendations to the governor according to funding priorities established annually.
Blackwood has extensive leadership experience, serving as the president of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association in 2022. In 2021, Governor Cooper appointed Sheriff Blackwood to the newly formed Commission for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, and then-SBI Director Bob Schurmeier named Blackwood to the SBI Center for the Analysis of Police Use of Force in 2020. These experiences will inform his role as Commission Chair.
Blackwood said, “It is indeed an honor to serve the state as the Chair of the Governor’s Crime Commission. In Orange County, my team works to create a safe community where everyone can move about freely as they live, work, raise their families, and age in place with dignity and support. I view this appointment as an opportunity to promote that vision for all North Carolinians.”
For more information about the Governor’s Crime Commission, visit ncdps.gov/gcc.
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