Veteran lawman leads crime advisory panel

A four-decade veteran of law enforcement has taken leadership of the Governor’s Crime Commission.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood now chairs the 44-member commission, a news release from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety says.

Blackwood joined the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in 1980 as a patrol deputy, rose through the ranks and was elected to the first of three terms as sheriff in 2014. He also was elected as president of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association in 2022 and appointed to the SBI Center for the Analysis of Police Use of Force in 2020.

He was first appointed to the crime commission in 2017 and has served as its vice chair.

“Throughout his career, Sheriff Blackwood has demonstrated a deep commitment to public service and public safety,” Caroline Farmer, executive director of the Governor’s Crime Commission, said in the release. “He has earned the respect of criminal justice partners in Orange County, in Raleigh and across the state. I am grateful that he has agreed to chair the commission and continue to help shape criminal justice policy in our state.”

The commission serves as the chief advisory body to the governor and the secretary of the Department of Public Safety on crime and justice issues.