Sheriff Calvin L. Woodard Jr.

Welcomes you to the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office:

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and thank you for visiting us on the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office Web Page.

The Office of the Sheriff has been in existence for over one thousand years. It is said to have originated in England sometime around 950 A. D. The Office of the Sheriff first appeared in this country in Virginia in 1634. North Carolina saw its first Sheriff in 1662. It was not until 1738 that the Office of the Sheriff, as it is known today, was created in the colony of North Carolina and the duties of the Provost Marshall and his deputies were placed in the hands of the Sheriff, including the collection of all taxes. In 1776, the Halifax constitution, while not providing for any particular form of government, did provide that each county have a Sheriff.

By 1829, this position had become an elected office. This was a full thirty-nine years before other officials became part of the electoral process, making the Office of the Sheriff, the first popularly elected office in the state. There was a Sheriff before there was a Governor, Attorney General or Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Wilson County elected its first Sheriff in 1855. Since that time, there have been nineteen elected Sheriff’s in the county.

The citizens of Wilson County first elected me as Sheriff in 2010. The Sheriff’s office consists of 168 employees, divided into four major divisions: Field, Investigation, Detention and Community/Judicial Services. Sub-divisions include: Administrative Staff, Patrol Officers, Motorcycle Unit, Detectives, Narcotics Officers, Judicial Coordinator, Warrant Division, School Resource Officers, Civil Process Officers, Court Officers, Clerical Personnel, Detention Officers, Cooks, Medical Staff, Building Maintenance and Animal Enforcement. Within each of these divisions, specially trained personnel perform designated tasks to ensure the efficient operation of the Sheriff’s Office.

The Criminal Division is responsible for patrol duties as well as serving subpoenas and criminal summons within the county. This division is also responsible for duties such as traffic and crowd control at special events. The Detective Division is responsible for investigating all serious misdemeanors, felonies, and alcohol offenses committed in Wilson County. The Narcotic and Vice Division investigates complaints of illegal substance abuse and human trafficking. The Civil Division and Warrant Division serve several thousand civil processes and criminal warrants each year, as well as, insuring that security is provided in all courts being operated in Wilson County. Within the Community/Judicial services, there are Ten School Resource Officers which are assigned to each high school and middle school. The Wilson County Detention Center houses 302 local, state and federal inmates. We also offer other specialized services such as a thirteen member Emergency Response Team, a 6 member Underwater Search and Recovery Team. We offer a Victim Assistance program, a crime prevention program, a domestic violence victim’s assistance program, a truancy program, and a business community crime prevention program.

In addition, the wonderful women and men of the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office are dedicated to providing professional and ethical services to the public.