The Lowdown Archive

NC Vision Zero (NCVZ), a program of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP), has an ambitious goal. NCVZ wants to see zero crashes, serious injuries, and fatalities on state roadways. Most of us might initially be tempted to disregard this goal as unrealistic, especially given that the number of North Carolina traffic fatalities last year was the highest in almost five decades. But if asked how many traffic deaths would be acceptable within your family this year, what would you say? I think you would quickly join Team Zero. 

NCVZ pursues this goal through collaborative, data-driven interventions. Brian Whitehurst, a lieutenant with my office, is the regional law enforcement liaison to the GHSP. Tasked with all things related to traffic, communications, and logistics, he manages the four speed awareness signs we purchased with GHSP funds.

These sophisticated devices use radar to measure the speed of approaching vehicles. They display a “Thank You” message if the speed is appropriate or a “slow down” message if it is not. My deputies routinely ask motorists during traffic stops if they know how fast they were travelling. A surprising number of times, the answer is “I’m sorry. I have no idea.” Speeding violations often represent accidental inattention, not deliberate disregard. These speed signs can provide the visual jolt a driver needs.

The signs are efficient, impartial, and accurate data collection workhorses. The onboard computer records and reports information such as how many vehicles pass the sign per hour, allowing Lieutenant Whitehurst to see when traffic volume is highest and at what time of day motorists exceed the posted speed by the highest percentage. Sometimes we deploy the signs in an area known to have multiple crashes; other times we place them in response to the request of residents.

Two important traffic metrics guide enforcement campaigns. One is the 50th percentile speed, which is the speed at or below which 50 percent of the drivers travel on a particular segment of road. The other is the 85th percentile, a number representing the speed at which 85 percent of drivers on a given road would travel at or below if there were no speed limit signs or speed controlling measures. Speed awareness signs are generally able to capture how fast a vehicle is traveling before a motorist can respond to seeing it. Software calculates these metrics every hour, providing rich information about traffic patterns. Speeds in between these percentiles are the “common sense metric,” as they tend to closely track the actual safe speed for a section of road. In fact, research shows drivers travelling at speeds between the 50th and the 85th percentile are unlikely to have a crash caused by excessive speed. It also reveals those who exceed the 90th percentile have a significantly higher risk of crashing. 

We know these signs are effective. When Lieutenant Whitehurst looks at the graph of average speed on a specific road, the speed almost always declines after a sign is installed. Generally, he leaves a sign in a location for a week or two before moving it. This is long enough to achieve positive effects, but not so long that travelers in that area stop “seeing” the sign. 

Some of the information the signs collect is interesting, but not very useful. We might learn the highest speed recorded last Tuesday in a 35-mile-per-hour zone was 60 mph and the lowest was 25. The high speed might have been an ambulance; the low might have been someone driving slowly looking for a lost pet. In other words, single data points don’t tell us anything, but if the sign reveals the highest speed per day is always around the same time, it may be wise to post a deputy in the neighborhood to modify this recurring behavior. 

Engineers built several interesting safety features into these devices. For example, Lieutenant Whitehurst is able to set the maximum speed the sign will display, regardless of a passing driver’s actual rate of travel. Unfortunately, in the absence of such a safeguard, some motorists might be tempted to make the sign flash 100 while taking a photo for social media! Additionally, the signs have integrated cameras which record photos of anyone tampering with or vandalizing the device.

To end where I began, the Vision Zero goal is ambitious and worthy of aggressive pursuit. We want you, your family members, and your neighbors to “arrive alive” every journey, every day. If you have a traffic safety concern, please give Lt. Whitehurst a call at (919) 245-2916 to discuss what we can do to help.

Law enforcement officers often respond to multiple calls involving people struggling to function well in society. Examples include people with substance user disorder, people experiencing homelessness, individuals with severe mental illness, and those with chronic family discord. Usually, the responding officer can do little to solve or even improve these difficult problems. Deputies also respond to calls involving people who need assistance when they are victims of or witnesses to crime, disaster, or trauma. Such trauma can be overwhelming.

Obviously, both types of calls are inherently stressful; that stress is compounded by the hypervigilance required to make sure no one is harmed. Deputies perform these services either roadside, or in homes or community settings – generally places where the officer has little control over the environment and limited knowledge of potential risks in the setting. Moreover, officers work in an assortment of uncomfortable situations, such as inclement weather, poor lighting, loud environments, unsanitary living conditions, in the presence of death and decay, or when being yelled at, berated, or videotaped.

Law enforcement officers generally gravitate to this work because they have a desire to help people. Some describe police work as “a calling.” These noble intentions, however, do not shield officers from the stresses I describe, nor do they protect from the emotional injury caused by what is known as a critical incident. This term refers to any actual or alleged event that creates a significant risk of substantial or serious harm to the physical or mental health of those involved.

Most people experience an estimated two to three critical incidents in a lifetime; law enforcement officers have 18 such exposures PER YEAR. A 2015 study places the average exposure to critical incidents over a law enforcement career at 188 such events.

The consequences of critical incidents and job-based stress have been compounded by the effects of the pandemic. Additionally, relationships between law enforcement and the community as described by the media are not always accurate, and these portrayals are harmful to the morale of law enforcement officers. You could say it is a perfect storm.

As Sheriff, I am much like a football coach. I cannot win without players prepared, willing, and able to serve. For us, a win is a successful response to a call for service or officer-initiated action. Therefore, it is incumbent on me to mitigate the effects of the trauma my deputies encounter.

Gone are the days when we expect deputies to “shake it off” or “suck it up.” Elevated risk for suicide, unhealthy substance use, and divorce rates in our profession speak to the inadequacy of that culture. The consequences of repeated exposure to stress and critical incidents demand a comprehensive commitment to mental health. As such, we offer:

 Peer and agency support: we expect our supervisors to encourage those on their shift to talk about their experiences. In the aftermath of a situation where the deputy’s life was at stake, or where the deputy witnessed the physical and emotional devastation of a suicide, rape, or murder, he or she is not expected to act as though it never happened.

 The services of FMRT: this agency provides psychological and medical support for safety-sensitive employers. Our deputies are familiar with this group as they also perform our pre-hire suitability assessments.

 Debriefing sessions: the county’s emergency services department holds optional sessions for all stakeholders involved in highly intense critical incidents. Participants review the event, discuss their human responses to it, support one another, and learn about warning signs and support options should the negative effects of the event persist or worsen.

 Orange County Employee Assistance Program: deputies can access the same services available to any county employee when they are experiencing stresses or situations that interfere with quality of life.

 NCLEAP: this 501(c)(3) non-profit organization provides peer-driven assistance to first responders who have been involved in critical incidents.

 Emergency Chaplains: we receive assistance from this Durham-based organization which is available to minister to us while working side-by-side to care for people in crisis.

What can you do? Follow the rules, and if you break them, understand that the deputy holding you accountable is serving the community, not picking on you. Recognize that ours is a job that demands more than many are willing or able to give; it has an impact on our lives. When you see deputies in the community, offer a kind word or a friendly wave. Much like a football team finds it easier to play in front of a supportive crowd, such gestures go a long way.

In early June 2021, the Asheville Police Department, citing a staffing shortage, notified their community that officers would no longer respond to some calls for service, including thefts or vandalism with no suspect information, scams, funeral escorts, and certain harassing phone call complaints. I believe their decision came as a shock to many. Regardless, they communicated the change clearly to the Asheville community. 

Shortly after, members of my command staff attended a webinar entitled “What Your Community Wants from the Police – Clarifying the Rules of Engagement” offered by the Dolan Consulting Group. The training started by recognizing the mixed messages directed to law enforcement. For example, we are called to respond to (and solve) a host of societal problems such as noise complaints, intoxicated people, break-ins, property disputes, and undisciplined children. These calls are time consuming, and they can make it difficult to provide the rapid response people expect when they call 911 with a dire emergency. Similarly, we are expected to keep roadways safe and crime rates low, but people only want us to enforce the traffic or criminal violations of people other than themselves! 

The webinar encouraged agencies to clarify the rules of engagement, make decisions regarding service priorities, and communicate both to the community. I decided to approach this task by commissioning a poll through Public Policy Polling (PPP), an agency nationally acclaimed for their accurate results. They surveyed a representative sample of Orange County voters about their thoughts and opinions regarding how they wished to be policed. Many law enforcement professionals I spoke to about this poll essentially asked me, “Why would you want to do that?” In return, I asked them, “Why wouldn’t you?” Some of them have Citizens’ Advisory Boards, an idea I am not comfortable with because I am unable to delegate my constitutional authority to anyone. Moreover, as an official elected by the entire county, I must endeavor to serve everyone, and it is difficult to think a dozen or so people could be a fair proxy for the opinions of a population of 145,000. The sample size is simply too small. 

PPP surveyed 740 Orange County voters and employed weighting to the data to ensure the demographic breakdown of those polled closely approximated the population of Orange County. The respondent pool was 75% white, 12% African-American, 8% other, and 5% Hispanic or Latino. Fifty-five percent of the respondents were Democrat, 16% were Republican, and 29% were Independent or a member of another party. A deeper dive into the gender, age, education, and residential area (urban, suburban, or rural) of respondents is beyond the scope of this article, but all generally tracked the composition of voters in our county. The opportunity to have insight into the opinions of a truly cross-sectional sampling of the county in a poll with a margin of error of only +/- 3.6 is invaluable. 

The poll queried the priority people felt my office should give to 15 law enforcement practices. We are now studying the resulting data and determining how to best adapt our service to the preferences of Orange County residents. I should note that nothing in the poll will affect how we respond to violent crime and carry out our constitutionally prescribed duties. Rather, the poll examined how our residents want us to police on matters allowing for more discretion, such as traffic enforcement, property crimes, quality of life calls, and requests for service that do not involve an imminent threat to people. We will repeat the poll at regular intervals, allowing us to adjust to the changing desires of those we serve. The poll will help us be accountable to our residents and elected officials, and it will help us have a framework to respond to calls for service in accordance with the wishes of the community as a whole, not just to the loudest voices at any particular moment. 

The data we now have are rich with possibility. Some clear themes emerged; residents want us to help protect their property and their ability to live in peace. They value protecting children in schools, and overall, they are not very concerned about expired tags or personal use of marijuana. We look forward to the opportunity to review policy and tailor service delivery to the desires of the community, and to communicating any changes to Orange County residents.

Missing person cases typically involve people who run away, wander off, get lost, or deliberately disappear. We rarely work a true abduction or kidnapping case, but such a situation is always possible. People should call 911 immediately if they discover a loved one missing. It is a myth that a person must be missing for 24 hours before deputies will take a report. Call immediately, and let us get started.

We appreciate the interest our missing person cases receive, especially on social media. People share our posts, helping them reach a wider audience, and resulting in a greater number of people looking. However, a social media audience tends to question, speculate, and make inappropriate requests, such as pressuring us to put out an Amber alert, even if the case clearly does not qualify for one. If we respond to these posts to educate and reassure people, we are distracted from the more important task of locating the missing person.

We rarely reveal information about a missing person case beyond providing a physical description and a very broad statement, such as “Deputies are concerned for Person’s name well-being.” If the person has dementia or is suicidal, he or she is entitled to medical privacy. If a person “snapped” under the weight of personal pressures, publically discussing those will do nothing to lessen that burden. A description of the person aids efforts to locate him or her; highly sensitive information does not. Any press release or social media post will remain on the Internet for all time. We want to minimize the impact of the crisis on the person’s future social relationships, employment opportunities, or political aspirations. The person’s current and long term well-being are more important than the curiosity of strangers.

Sometimes we receive suggestions in the comments on Facebook. People tell us to ask other jurisdictions to look for the license plate, check find my phone apps, alert the media, contact friends, or check the hospitals. Let me assure readers – these are all things we routinely do, and they are only the tip of the iceberg. This is not our first rodeo!

In one recent case, we had several convincing indicators the missing person voluntarily left his or her last known location in a vehicle. Multiple people wanted to know why we weren’t organizing a search party. What would that look like? Where would we start? On the ground grid searches certainly have their place; such as when a person with dementia wanders away from home on foot, when a small child slips away, or when a hiker gets lost in the woods. Those cases have a starting point, and we can establish reasonable search parameters. We do not have these in a runaway-type case, especially when the person has a vehicle.

We have three primary databases at our disposal. We always enter the missing person into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a system used by more than 80,000 agencies. If the person comes into contact with a law enforcement officer, a simple check will reveal the person’s status as missing and provide information about who to contact. This database is useful if the person ends up unconscious, at a hospital, in a car wreck, or if they surface asking for help.

Once entered into NCIC, there are two types of specialty alerts the investigating agency can pursue. Silver Alerts are used for missing and endangered people over age 65, or for a person with mental or cognitive disabilities (regardless of age) which place them at increased risk of harm. Amber Alerts are issued only when a person 17 years old or younger is believed to have been abducted and is not thought to be a runaway. The abduction must have been reported to and investigated by a law enforcement agency. Such alerts are issued only by the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons – we cannot issue one. If we apply and the case does not qualify, the application is immediately rejected, and we might see our credibility suffer – making it harder to justify future requests. Amber Alerts, by law, are only used in the rare cases that qualify for them. If they are overused, people will not give them the urgent attention they deserve.

If you need help finding a missing person, call us immediately. Tell us everything you know; we will protect sensitive information. Help us publicize the person’s description. Understand what Amber and Silver alerts are, and trust us to use them when appropriate.

My office is undergoing a systematic shift in how we envision our service to Orange County. This change is represented by a new organizational chart, one which places the employees working closest with the public at the top. This is a visual representation of my belief that the deputies and staff who have the most contact with the people we serve accomplish the bulk of our work seen by the community. They are, therefore, the face of the sheriff’s office, and placing them at the top reflects the important role they play in our agency.

This fundamental shift in our chart obviously means that the command staff and I are at the bottom of the chart. This positioning is intentional– it is a visual reminder that we are here to support the staff of the Sheriff’s Office as they go about their work.

A Sheriff’s Office provides many forms of service; in fact, it is more accurate to think of us as a comprehensive community support and safety agency than as just a law enforcement one. Our new chart also visually groups related functions into four main areas. These functional areas help highlight how “law enforcement” is too narrow of a term for the work we do.

A major leads each of the four divisions, as follows:

 Major Tina Sykes is the first female Major in the agency’s history. She leads the division responsible for Professional Standards/Training and Support Services. This division organizes the basic law enforcement academy for new cadets, arranges classes and tracks compliance with the yearly required in-service training for existing deputies, supervises the resource officers supporting the public school community, and oversees crime prevention and community outreach activities so vital in supporting special populations within our county.

 Major Tim Jones administers the Detention and Courts Division. Four shifts provide for around-the-clock care of the people ordered into our custody by the courts. He also has responsibility for the deputies providing security at our courthouses and for the team transporting inmates between other detention and medical facilities across the state. We will soon move into a new detention facility several miles north of the current jail; Major Jones will oversee this enormous transition, including orienting and training the staff for the new space, finalizing the acquisition of equipment and supplies, and planning for new procedures to transport inmates to court (the new facility is not directly across the street from the courthouse as the current one is).

 Major Nate Fearrington oversees the Patrol, Civil, and Administrative divisions. The patrol division has four shifts responding to 911 calls and proactively providing safety and security services to people and property within the county. Patrol deputies perform the duties most people envision when they hear the term “law enforcement officer.” Major Fearrington also has the responsibility for the vehicles, uniforms, and equipment these deputies need. Radios, body cameras, cell phones, and in-car computers continue to become exponentially more sophisticated; the logistics involved in maintaining and updating these systems are likewise more complicated.

The civil division serves all court papers, collects money, and carries out orders of the court, such as executing evictions, while the administrative division has a myriad of functions, including providing services to the public such as fingerprinting, record keeping, and processing weapons permits. Specialized members of this division also counsel domestic violence survivors, while others provide the complicated computer and information technology (IT) services needed by a modern agency.

 Major Josh Wood leads the teams responsible for criminal and narcotics investigations and the related duties of evidence collection and analysis. Related to these realms is the supervision and administration of the K9 unit, several state and federal multi-agency task forces, and the Special Response Team. The latter includes expertly trained and specially equipped officers who carry out high risk arrests and building entries, and use their experience in hostage and barricaded subject situations.

From our position at the lowest level of the agency organizational chart, the rest of the command staff focuses on delivering the support the majors need to enable the members of their respective divisions to maintain, elevate, and adapt our service to a constantly changing landscape. Our overarching goal is to build confidence in our primary roles as a public safety and community support agency; thus, we hope we can maintain the community’s trust when law enforcement actions are necessary.

We believe our new organizational chart better represents the operational efforts and structure we employ to guide this work and target our goals.

I am proud of my hardworking staff. Collectively, we strive to provide ethical, efficient, modern law enforcement to Orange County, and we focus on building relationships and providing excellent service. That hardworking staff includes our remarkable K9 unit, and I am excited to introduce them to you in this month’s edition of The Lowdown.

Our K9 unit includes three humans, two German Shepherds from Poland, and a Dutch Shepherd from the Czech Republic. All six team members are dedicated, enthusiastic, and committed, but frankly, the dogs have no idea they go to work. They are motivated by a simple desire to please their handlers and the chance to earn playtime with their favorite toys.

A K9 team attends a training school before they begin their patrol duties. It generally takes between 10 and 16 weeks for the team to complete school and “graduate.” The goal of this initial training is two part. The first is to begin creating a dog’s resume, documenting all training and usage records - these are what make a dog a police dog. A dog’s resume is used to establish probable cause for search warrants and to establish the dog’s legitimacy when criminal cases go to court. The second goal is to certify with a nationally recognized organization because there is no state level training certification available in North Carolina. We certify with the International Police Working Dog Association, which focuses on the working capabilities of the dog team, including off-lead obedience, article search for evidence, tracking, narcotics detection, searching buildings for suspects, and apprehension of persons of interest.

Once a team graduates from school, intensive training continues. Each team receives over 300 hours per year of training, primarily concentrated in weekly group training sessions. This session always includes all three teams, and they often train with K9 teams from other agencies. Each handler also completes additional training activities each work day to keep the dog’s skills sharp, build the handler’s confidence, and allow problem-solving opportunities. These all increase the likelihood the team will be able to navigate successfully the challenges that arise during their patrol shift.

K9 teams are an incredible asset to our agency. A dog’s powerful sense of smell helps locate people in building searches. Moreover, when the handler announces a dog is about to enter, often a suspect is so afraid of the dog that he or she will voluntarily come out of hiding. These dogs are also highly efficient. They can locate in minutes a stash of narcotics it might take human searchers hours to find. Using that same sense of smell, they are able to track a missing person or an individual who runs from a vehicle crash or investigative stop, even if the person runs into thick woods or underbrush. A human alone does not have that capability; the dog serves as a force multiplier.

These assets are absolutely worth their cost, which is between $7,000.00 and $10,000.00 per dog, plus $3,500.00 per dog for other initial costs, such as a kennels and special patrol vehicle safety systems. Ongoing costs are about $100.00 per year per dog to replace toys, leashes, and other training equipment. We also spend $1,500.00 annually for food, treats, yearly vaccinations, and preventative maintenance medication (wormer and flea and tick prevention) for each dog. If a dog gets injured or sick, there are additional vet fees.

I asked our handlers to describe our dogs. All agreed Callie, our Dutch Shepherd, is a very determined dog with a high drive to succeed. Not surprisingly, she is therefore our best tracking dog, despite the difficulty of this task. Time lapse, weather conditions, and scent contamination are factors that lead to a majority of tracks being unsuccessful, yet Callie completed one on her first night as a working dog!

Tres, one of our German shepherds, is also a terrific tracking dog. He got his name, which is the Spanish word for the number three, because it took that many tries to pair his handler with the right dog! Tres is the most social of our K9 team, and therefore a star at community events. Zar, our other German shepherd, has an incredibly sensitive nose and is determined to locate the source of the odors he detects. He once located over 200 pounds of marijuana.

If you have a chance to talk to our K9 handlers, please do. You will see their enthusiasm for their work and learn more about the incredible capabilities of their furry partners. But please remember - the dogs don’t know they have a job. Let’s keep that a secret!

Last month, I wrote about the benefits and difficulties of a public safety career. My life’s work is in a valuable profession, one with job-security and the incredible opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. In this month’s edition of The Lowdown, I am going to address the initial training necessary to begin such a career.

As sheriff, I am responsible for enforcing laws, investigating crimes, providing for security of county courthouses, serving civil process paperwork, and the overall safety of Orange County. Additionally, I am responsible for the operation of the county detention facility, more commonly known as the jail.

Deputies help me carry out the former functions and detention officers provide for the safety and well-being of those in my custody. Each role requires a specialized training program. Detention officers complete a five-week program, Basic Detention Officer Training (BDOT), while deputies receive their certification upon the successful completion of a 20-week Basic Law Enforcement Training class commonly called BLET. The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Education and Training Standards Commission is responsible for both certifications. I hire deputies with experience serving in other agencies as well as people brand new to law enforcement. New, uncertified hires initially serve in the detention center. Within a year, they are required to attend and successfully complete BDOT where they receive twenty-two separate blocks of instruction, including crisis intervention, preventing and responding to facility emergencies, conflict resolution, and the management and supervision of offenders. Once certified, they return to work in the detention center. After a year or so, an interested detention officer can ask to be considered for BLET, or they may continue to serve in the jail.

Shortly after I became Sheriff, we started our own BLET academy. We felt it best for our community if cadets received training from people who understood the dynamics and needs of our region, and we knew we had talented instructors. Together with Durham Technical Community College, we created an academy pitched to a philosophical sweet spot. An overly militaristic program would not be conducive to our brand of friendly, trustworthy, and approachable service, but we still wanted to create a program with a standard of unwavering excellence. After seven years, our academy enjoys an excellent reputation; we recently began teaching our eighth class of cadets. These cadets face a rigorous program of academic work, practical skill building, and physical fitness training.

I generally welcome the cadets early in the program; they don’t see me again until the school director and the training coordinator tell me, “We have our class.” By this, they mean the students who are unable to handle the rigor have washed out, and those capable of completing the course have gelled as a unit. At this point, I return to campus and present them with the class football, which is the outward symbol of my faith in them. The class leader protects the football for the rest of the course and returns it to me at the graduation ceremony. The football I will soon present to Class 8 is as pristine as it was on the day I gave it to Class 1.

In addition to training cadets who will work for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, we enroll students from neighboring jurisdictions. The current class has students from my office, Person County Sheriff’s Office, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Duke University Police Departments. Each class has a motto, and each maintains a memory wall. On the wall, members paste a short tribute to every law enforcement officer who dies in the United States performing his or her duties during the duration of the class. This is always a very sobering list, but a powerful reminder of the importance of service and the willingness to sacrifice.

Many cadets are employed by an agency during their time in the academy, as is the case when my detention officers seek to become deputies. Others come to the academy on their own time, but under the sponsorship of an agency. A sponsoring agency conducts the background check and certifies the student meets all requirements. Although sponsored students have tuition waivers for program costs (approximately $2,400.00 for an in-state student), they must buy their own books and uniforms, and there is no promise of employment. Our academy, however, enjoys a reputation for graduating law enforcement professionals dedicated to doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, for the right reason; graduating cadets generally have no trouble finding a position in our area.

If you think you might be interested in a rewarding career, please come see me. I’d love to tell you more about how you can get started.

Recently, several news reporters have inquired about our profession, our staffing levels, and whether we are finding it difficult to hire and retain deputies. Let me give you The Lowdown on these important and interconnected issues.

I often hear about local agencies operating with severe personnel shortages. In contrast, my office is well-staffed. We only have two open positions for deputy sheriffs. We have not needed to post openings or actively seek candidates; however, we are constantly looking for the best and the brightest. My team is aware that we are all passively recruiting every day through our actions, our social media, our web page, our phone app, our videos, and our presence at community events. Often people end up applying here after asking a deputy about his or her job. Still more apply when I or a member of my command staff notices someone in the community with strong interpersonal skills or a good work ethic and we inquire, “Have you ever thought about working in law enforcement?”

Since August of 2020, we have hired six experienced officers who came to us from other agencies. Meanwhile, we gained six new deputies in June following their recent graduation from our Basic Law Enforcement Training Academy. It is nice to have a mix of veteran and new deputies. One group brings experience and an understanding of what it really means to be a sworn public safety officer; the other brings new energy and an eagerness to learn to protect and serve “our way.”

There has been plenty of media coverage about bad police officers and the “hardship” of increased public scrutiny under which public safety professionals currently work. I encourage my employees to adopt a different mindset. I think this is a fabulous time to begin a public service career. This job is complicated and difficult, and there are many people who see the uniform and make incorrect judgements about the content of the wearer’s character. We can’t do anything about either of those facts. However, we can dedicate ourselves to doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way, and for the right reason. When that is the goal, the job is in many ways a simple one, and it is an extremely rewarding one. We recognize the golden opportunity we have to exceed expectations every day, and to change incorrect judgements into positive opinions.

There are also practical matters which make serving the community as a deputy an inviting prospect. Law enforcement is a professional career. Although a college education is beneficial, it is not required. Once hired and trained, there is room for an individual to explore his or her interests and move into a more specialized role. For example, some of our deputies are K-9 handlers; others are drone operators, evidence technicians, members of our motorcycle unit, and crime scene investigators. Deputies receive a competitive benefits package, a career ladder, and a pension plan.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to sell law enforcement as all rainbows and roses. It is not. Deputies face repeated exposure to critical incidents. Responding to death scenes, domestic calls, car crashes, and violent crimes requires one to suppress personal feelings in order to carry out the responsibilities of the job. Encountering the unpredictable behavior of mentally ill individuals or people impaired by substances is difficult. Serving during a time when people doubt your ethics, your integrity, and your motivation can be draining. All of these things are difficult to share with loved ones, in part because we don’t want to expose them, even second hand, to the darker underbelly of community life. Therefore, my command staff and I work hard to provide support and resources to help our people cope with these challenges.

My life’s work is in a valuable profession, one with job-security and the incredible opportunity to make a difference. One of our new deputies talks about looking forward to the tiny moments – the near daily opportunity to help, direct, comfort, reassure, counsel, or support during both routine encounters and difficult times. Even when we write a citation or arrest someone, and the interaction is not pleasant, we know our work is making other people safer.

There’s an old adage that everyone is selling something. I certainly am. I sell community confidence and safety, and I’m always looking for people to help me do it.

I first met Troy Manns at a Mental Health Legislative breakfast many years ago; he was the keynote speaker. Troy is a Peer Support Specialist, certified in Substance Disorders counseling. He is also a person in long term recovery from substance use; he therefore has critically important lived experiences. I introduced myself to him after hearing his inspiring story, and we then met on several other occasions.

When voters first elected me Sheriff in 2014, Troy was the first person to come visit me in my new office. Troy had a vision, and he wanted me to see it, too. Working at the time at Freedom House, he was a liaison to the Orange County Recovery Courts. He kept seeing the same people return to the detention center. He felt certain we could reduce recidivism by providing substance use services to incarcerated people.

Troy was right to come to me. As the Sheriff, I was now responsible for the safety and well-being of every person in Orange County, including those in the detention center and those attempting to adjust to life after incarceration. Obviously, it is in everyone’s interest if people can manage this transition without reoffending or resuming harmful substance use. Troy sold me on the importance of meeting people where they are and helping them move to a better place.

With Troy’s guidance, my office partnered with the county’s Criminal Justice Resource Department (CJRD) and formed Foundations for Hope (F4H). F4H is an evidence-based model utilizing peer support to motivate recovery among inmates at the Orange County Detention Center who have substance use and/or mental health issues. Nationally recognized recovery materials are used to help inmates build their personal toolkits to use during times of stress and temptation. The goal is to equip participants with useful information, strengthen their decision-making skills, and provide them with support so that upon their release they are able to engage positively in the community and eliminate behaviors that could cause a repeat offense.

Allison Zirkel, a licensed clinical social worker and addiction specialist, works with the CJRD. She screens interested male inmates for voluntary participation based on the following criteria: a diagnosed substance use disorder, a demonstrated commitment to recovery, a sentence or period of pretrial detention of more than 60 days, and the recommendation of Detention Center administrators. Since program inception, Ms. Zirkel has referred 53 people to F4H. If space allows, the inmate will ideally reside with other program participants in a designated cell block, and they attend twice weekly recovery group sessions. The program includes problem-solving workshops, wellness recovery training, relapse prevention, positive self-advocacy, motivational and mindfulness instruction, expressive art therapy, and introduction to outside supports.

The introduction to outside supports is critical. Also known as a warm-handoff, such a practice increases the likelihood that people will follow up on referrals to available services. The barrier to entry is lower when the client already has a connection with someone on staff, knows where the office is, and has a plan to address logistics such as transportation. Reducing this type stress also minimizes the likelihood a program participant will sabotage his own success by finding a reason not to seek the services he so desperately needs.

When a F4H participant is released, he receives a referral to the Josh’s Hope Foundation, which offers community supports and assistance with the transition back to community life. Some participants receive vocational training or internship opportunities, and ideally, all will continue in F4H community-based peer recovery support groups. During the post-release period, participants receive up to 12 months of reentry assistance and support. During this time, outcomes are recorded for program evaluation.

Of course, COVID-19 altered service delivery. The detention center housed less people and representatives from outside organizations were not allowed into the facility. Mr. Manns also took a new job with Recovery Communities of North Carolina. Their mission is to promote addiction recovery, wellness and citizenship through advocacy, education, and support. However, he still serves the local community with his participation in the Local Re-entry Council, the Justice Advisory Council, and the Orange County Behavioral Task Force. As F4H gears back up, Troy’s influence is still felt in the local recovery community.

I’m glad Troy was the first visitor to my new office. He helped me embrace his vision. We now provide recovery services while a person is in our facility and re-entry assistance when he leaves. These efforts have lasting impacts on the safety and well-being of every member of our community.

This month, three interns completed semester-long experiences with my office. I want to tell you about them and encourage other students to consider coming to learn and grow with us.

Kayla Kaminski had the most specialized experience of the three, coming to us with a strong interest in family services or assisting those experiencing domestic violence. As part of her degree requirements at Greensboro College, she worked with us four days a week, receiving four hours of academic credit.

Serving almost exclusively with our Crisis Unit, Kayla learned about electronically filing domestic violence protective orders. She assisted Amber Keith-Drowns with domestic violence court and direct service to those affected by intimate partner violence. She also observed the judicial process in action as Deputy Faircloth served orders on defendants. Required by her program to complete a project that would benefit the office after her internship concluded, Kayla worked with Investigator Woodlief to create a spreadsheet tracking the inventory of sexual assault kits and serving as a database for communication with survivors. Kayla worked two extra weeks with us because she didn’t want to leave. She found “there was never a wrong question to ask,” and she reported “There is a lot of passion and respect here for the people we serve.”

Terrance Higgins-Keziah, also interned for course credit, working an average of 28 hours a week while also taking on-line courses before graduating with a BS in Criminal Justice and a minor in Russian Studies from East Carolina University. He wrote a summary of his experience in the form of a thank you note to Lieutenant Whitehurst, through whom Terrance arranged his internship. My favorite line of that letter was, “I truly believe there is something magical about your agency.” What a compliment!

Terrance learned about the nuanced civil process laws, helped people with weapon permit applications and background checks, gained insight into domestic violence, observed some of the technology used by our evidence technicians, rode with patrol on night shift, observed a death investigation, and field tested an instruction manual Investigator Baldwin wrote for our 3D laser camera.

When asked if he had any advice for future interns with the office, Terrance said, “When I started, and this is applicable to life in general, I wish I knew to be more self- initiating…a lot of what ended up being most valuable started with me asking. Reach out to people around you – everyone is here for your benefit.”

Our youngest intern, Moses King, 17, attended East Chapel Hill High School before receiving his GED. His goal is to become an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

I met Moses while we were in his neighborhood investigating a threat to public safety. This was shortly after George Floyd’s murder; Moses reports his parents “freaked” to hear he had an interaction with law enforcement. Moses’s father came to see me a few days later, and together we agreed Moses might benefit from an internship with my office. Frankly, Moses was not very happy about the arrangement! 

Moses now reports he didn’t think law enforcement officers were approachable – he thought they were almost robots. I am so gratified he learned, in his words, that we are “actual people who care about you.”

Moses became a valuable member of our team, helping answer inquiries at the front desk and fingerprinting people who needed that service. He had a particular interest in learning about patrol vehicles and the wireless technology involved with the lights and sirens. He therefore spent time working with Captain Fearrington and visiting the motor pool.

In addition to exploring technology, meeting all sorts of people, and learning different perspectives, Moses found his experiences here were a catalyst for discussions with his friends, who generally had negative preconceived notions about law enforcement. Moses reports his friends have softened. He says when they see a deputy now, they think, “There go Moses’s people.”

Moses will have an internship with a police department in Rwanda this summer. When he returns to the states, he will attend the Citadel this fall. I can’t tell you how proud I am to be one of Moses’s people!

If you are considering an internship with our office, please explore our website and learn more about us. Of particular interest might be two videos you will find at www.ocsonc.com/video. If you think there is a place for you here, please contact me or Lt. Whitehurst. Let’s talk about whether we can design an experience to help you achieve your goals.

We seem to be responding to calls regarding mental health with increased frequency. More and more, we hear from community members who feel law enforcement should not be involved in these situations at all. Those who feel this way may not realize the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is much more than a law enforcement agency, and arrest is not the only tool we have at our disposal.

Patrol deputies at a modern sheriff’s office certainly do protect the community by investigating crimes, enforcing traffic regulations, and arresting those who have broken the law. However, a deputy’s duties are much more comprehensive. We also serve as emergency medical responders, public servants, peace keepers, referral sources, property checkers, overdose reversers, regulatory agents, negotiators, and mediators.

We all know that a mentally ill person often needs treatment more than they need to be arrested. We also know there are not enough mental health beds or services in this country, especially for people of low wealth or those who are under insured. People in mental health crisis sometimes make decisions they would not make if they were well. Sometimes these choices result in criminal offenses, actions that pose grave risks to self or someone else, behaviors that make others uncomfortable in public spaces, or choices that victimize other people.

Frankly, my deputies are called to mental health crises because we are available 24/7/365, we are mobile, and we have a highly efficient dispatch system. Who else has the infrastructure we do? If a mentally ill person knocks on your door, perhaps half-naked, talking about aliens practicing mind-control techniques by beaming proton lasers through the electrical outlets, who else are you going to call? What if your depressed teenager won’t come out of his or her room and you realize the handgun you keep in your night table drawer is now missing?

Deputies are not mental health clinicians, but they are trained in de-escalation and crisis intervention techniques, they have the necessary statutory authority to transport subjects to a medical facility, and they are trained in best practices for safely containing violent behavior if needed. At present, we are the professionals most readily available and best suited to step into the service chasm in our mental health system, and we have the best chance of helping someone become a patient, not a defendant.

All that said, we hear our community is asking for something different, something more, something better. So far, however, the conversation seems to be about taking emergency response away from us, without proposing viable solutions for creating an alternative infrastructure and system for appropriately meeting the acute needs of the mentally ill while simultaneously protecting the public.

Therefore, I am creating a Mental Health Response Unit (MHRU) within the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to more specifically tailor our service to the needs of people with mental illness who are in crisis. This unit is in the development stage, and we are looking for clinical partners. The deputies staffing the unit will have specialized training in verbal judo, crisis intervention, hostage negotiation, and mental health first aide. Additionally, one of the assigned deputies will be a drug recognition expert, one of a handful across the state trained to recognize not only that a person is under the influence, but also able to identify with great accuracy what drug is responsible for the person’s impairment. This knowledge can inform appropriate response.

Deputies assigned to this unit will drive vehicles with subdued graphics and wear uniforms with elements identifying their special focus. MHRU deputies will have rotating schedules, concentrating where possible on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, the days on which we responded to mental illness emergencies most often in 2020. Among their goals will be serving as resource professionals for community members concerned about the mental health of a loved one. They will also intervene in mental health situations before they develop into criminal ones, and before others become victims. Additionally, they will strive to connect those in need with appropriate mental health treatment resources in Orange County.

Please let me hear from you with your thoughts. As stated above, this is a new initiative I am developing. I hear that people do not want “law enforcement” responding to mental health calls, but until there is another system operating in the breech, the responsibility to respond remains mine. I will not ignore it, but I will definitely try to respond in a manner consistent with the values of this community.

In January, I reviewed the criminal processes used to compel defendants to appear in court. Last month, I discussed the initial appearance hearing during which a magistrate sets conditions of pretrial release. In this final installment of the three-part series, I review current reform efforts aimed at making the Orange County bail policy fair and equitable.

Our criminal justice system holds a defendant is innocent until proven guilty; therefore, punishment is not supposed to begin until conviction. The purpose of bail is solely to ensure the accused’s appearance in court; no one should be held in jail simply because they are unable to afford bail. Such a practice would unfairly advantage wealthy defendants and essentially criminalize poverty. Unless the accused poses a threat to public safety, is likely to destroy evidence or intimidate witnesses, or seems likely to flee, he or she is entitled to freedom until convicted by the court system.

Of the criminal processes used to compel someone to court, citations and criminal summonses do not require arrest, thereby automatically removing pre-trial incarceration from the equation. We encourage deputies to use a citation in lieu of arrest when possible, effectively placing the matter into the court system without depriving the accused of his or her liberty. Likewise, when magistrates hear testimony about an alleged crime, they are encouraged to use the least restrictive method to compel the defendant to answer to the charges. A criminal summons accomplishes this objective without requiring the defendant’s arrest, and is therefore preferable to a warrant.

In cases where a person is arrested and brought before a magistrate, Orange County implemented the use of a Magistrate’s Structured Decision Making Tool in October 2020, making it the ninth county in North Carolina to adopt such a reform. Stakeholders designed the tool to prevent low-risk individuals from being incarcerated simply because they receive a bail amount beyond their financial means. Judicial District 30B (Haywood and Jackson counties) was the first to use such a tool; there, the percentage of cases receiving a pre-trial condition other than a secured bond increased 43.79%. Concurrently, the number of defendants incurring a new criminal charge during the pre-trial period increased by only 1.1% and the number of defendants failing to appear in court increased by only 1-2 percentage points over the levels seen before stakeholders introduced the tool. Additionally, the tool increases decision-making consistency across magistrates, provides necessary documentation for the next level of judicial review, and preserves magistrate discretion.

Another cornerstone of bail reform is the county-funded Pretrial Services program, established in 2016. A case manager from Pretrial Services meets with each newly detained individual in the Detention Center to compile and verify information for judicial officials to use at the initial appearance hearing as they review bail and other pre-trail release conditions set by the magistrate. The case manager uses the Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment – Revised. This assessment helps determine if a person can be released until the court date without supervision, or which of the four supervision levels will allow for safe management in the community. In many ways, pre-trial supervision resembles probation. Although supervision reduces a person’s individual liberty, it is far less restrictive than confinement in jail, and it seeks to balance the individual’s liberty interests against the community’s right to protection.

Orange County is also investing in a more nuanced approach to responding to defendants charged with misdemeanors who fail to appear in court. Rather than the imposition of a mandatory secured bond and the resulting incarceration if a defendant cannot pay, as of January 19 of this year, the system attempts to provide a “second chance” to those missing a court date for the first time. A decision-making flowchart considers whether the failure to appear occurred because of work obligations, lack of transportation, childcare responsibilities, or lack of notice from the court.

I am the vice chair of the Governor’s Crime Commission, and I serve on a subcommittee tasked with studying best practices for bail reform. We are dedicated to reviewing and improving the entire process rather than mindlessly continuing decades’ old practices. As a bonus, data show that many of these reforms are cost effective for tax payers – it is more expensive to keep people in custody than to monitor them in the community. We have a moral imperative to create fair, safe, and equitable processes that refuse to perpetuate a legacy of disparate treatment based on race or income level.