Orange County Sheriff's Office - North Carolina

06/18/2026

06/17/2026

Come join us for Time-Out with Sheriff Blackwood, Eddie Williams and the crew. We are here until 11 am, hoping you can break away for a few minutes to visit.

06/16/2026

School Resource Officer C. Spragins earned her Advanced Law Enforcement Officer Certificate, a Department of Justice program recognizing years of service, education, and professional training combined. Sheriff Charles Blackwood presented her with her certificate today. We are very happy she is on our team!

06/15/2026

Hope to see you Wednesday morning!

06/12/2026

The scam attempts keep coming and they are getting quite elaborate. A resident received a call earlier this week from a person posing as one of our majors, and it appeared on caller ID that he placed the call from our office phone number.
The reason for his call was quite elaborate. He informed the resident that someone had stolen their ID (and he provided the person's correct social security number, birthdate, address, email address etc.) The "major" went on to explain that the thief used the victim's information to buy millions of dollars worth of fentanyl, and that for safety purposes, the victim now needed to enter the witness protection program under a new identity. He even emailed "official" paperwork. Then, when the "major" transferred the person to an FBI agent, the plot thickened even more.
We don't want to provide too many details, because would-be crooks read Facebook, too, and we don't want to teach more people how to commit these terrible crimes!
Fortunately, our resident smelled something fishy and came to talk with us - despite the agent's insistence on complete secrecy "for the victim's own safety." [Yeah, right.]
Fear, secrecy, official documents, spoofed numbers, knowledge of personal details, and a promise to help get out of a tremendous jam - this situation had all the classic elements of a scam. It can be hard to spot a scam when you are terrified.
Fortunately, our resident came to talk to us. We were able to offer reassurance, make sure they did not suffer any monetary loss, and provide some suggestions about further financial safeguards. We hope others will seek our assistance in similar situations. Remember: no law enforcement officer will object to you calling another law enforcement officer for verification of a problem. If they do, just hang up the phone.

06/12/2026

Deputies J. Gowl and E. Lewis had a big day yesterday. The pair recently completed Basic Law Enforcement Training at Alamance Community College. This demanding program requires a minimum of 868 curriculum hours and the comprehensive physical fitness and practical training that new deputies need to perform their basic duties.
Their families came to our office yesterday to witness the cadets take the oath and officially become deputy sheriffs. Loved ones pinned new badges on the Class A uniform shirts.
Later in the evening, colleagues traveled to Burlington to clap and cheer as program instructors and officials presented Gowl and Lewis with their certificates at the class graduation ceremony.
Next up - field training where they will take all that classroom knowledge and apply it to the complex, dynamic situations they will encounter.
Well done! We wish you both safe, fulfilling careers and we thank you for continuing to serve our community

06/12/2026

We were happy to be on hand this morning to help our friends at Walmart Hillsborough celebrate their Grand Reopening.
Wal-Mart and its employees are great community partners, working with us on our annual Shop with the Sheriff event and other important initiatives throughout the year.

06/06/2026

This week was busy one as Monday morning was spent at the North Carolina Supreme Court as my dear friend, Ricky Parks, accepted a new role of leadership as Marshal of the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, many of the state’s top leaders joined us as we celebrated the well earned retirement of our Association’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Eddie Caldwell. We also celebrated those who have served as Sheriffs across the state who are now retired with our annual NCSA Retired Sheriff’s Luncheon. Wednesday was Legislative Day as many Sheriffs from across our state met with their Representatives and Senators in Raleigh to talk about several bills of interest. On Thursday, the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission met to approve financial support of a number of programs across our state.