This week, we Take 5 with Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter near the two-year anniversary of his taking office following the November 2006 sheriff's race. Tracy Lynn Carter was born in Lee County on June 1, 1966.He graduated from Lee Senior High School in 1984 and then attended Campbell University where he received a BAS in Human Services and Criminal Justice in 1989. He also holds an Advanced Certificate in Law Enforcement from the North Carolina Sheriff’s Training and Standards Commission. He is a 2006 Graduate of the North Carolina Sheriff’s Leadership Institute.
Sheriff Tracy Carter began his career in law enforcement with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in 1986, working as a jail officer, deputy sheriff and DARE officer.
In 1993 he left the Sheriff’s Office to become the first Chief of Lee County School’s Special Police, where he served until 2006.
He was elected Sheriff of Lee County in November 2006.
Sheriff Carter serves on the board for the Boys and Girls Club of Sanford and Lee County. He is a member of the San Lee Sunrise Rotary Club, the Lee County Wildlife Club and is a member of the Church of God of Prophecy.
In his spare time he enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and visiting the NC coast with his family.
He and his wife Angie have been married twenty-one years and have four children.
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Q: It's been two years since you took office. What would you say are your office's most significant accomplishments?
A: When I ran for sheriff in 2006, I ran on a three things - drug enforcement, accountability and working closely with the community to prevent crime in Lee County. My administration has made major accomplishments in all three of these areas.
One of my very first acts was to create a 5 officer drug enforcement unit with existing resources at no additional cost to taxpayers. This unit hit the ground running and over the past two years has seized over 11 million dollars in illegal drugs in Lee County, filed charges against approximately 790 individuals and has received over $220,000 in drug asset monies that was returned to Lee County from drug dealers. With this drug asset forfeiture money, the sheriff's office has been able to purchase much needed equipment for our officers at no cost to county tax payers. As Sheriff of Lee County, I have sent a clear message that Lee County is not an easy place for drug dealers to set up shop. We have developed strong working relationships with other law enforcement agencies including state and federal authorities.
We have increased the clearance rate of reported crimes committed in Lee County in our detective division from about 27% to around 50%. Investigators have recovered over $1,000,000 in stolen property and have made over 950 arrests.
As part of our community policing philosophy, the uniform patrol presence in Lee County has been increased by adding additional uniform patrol officers in the county areas outside the city limits, changing patrol procedures, and increasing the contact these officers have with members of the community.
Reducing crime in the area is also achieved through the education of citizens. That is why the Lee County Sheriff’s Office has worked very hard to educate the public about crime in Lee County by holding a total of 65 community meetings. Additionally, we have promoted community watch in Lee County and started up the National Night Out Program in the county that the City of Sanford started many years ago for its citizens. You can learn more about these programs at our website http://www.yourlocalsheriff.com/.
Also, prior to taking office, there was one sworn minority officer in the entire department – a percentage not even closely representing the minority presence in the county. Since that time, we have made significant progress on involving professionals that represent the minority community in Lee County.
Q: Local crime rate indices have improved recently, but concerns about the economy have experts predicting crime will increase; as times get tougher, they say, more people turn to crime to survive. What do you think, and why?
A: That is the common notion, but a lot of factors impact property crime. Regardless of the reason, we are still dealing with crime, and we are getting prepared for crimes caused by a period of significant economic difficulty. My leadership team and I are keeping a close look at the trends in property crimes and developing plans to deal with tough economic times. Since we know that crimes of opportunity are the most likely crimes, part of our strategy is to continue to educate the public on how to present fewer opportunities to criminals - simple things like always being aware of your surroundings when out shopping and calling law enforcement if you see something suspicious in your community.
Q: What haven't you been able to do, or address, that you thought you might be able to in the same time period?
A: My administration has made major accomplishments. That does not mean that we are doing all that we would like to do or made all the improvements that are possible. Regardless of what has been achieved or has yet to be achieved, as sheriff of Lee County I refuse to be complacent.
My rule of thumb is to continue moving forward. As Sheriff I want to stop all crime in the county. Although it is unrealistic to assume that crime will never be committed in our county, I believe we should always do our part and be as proactive as possible. We must also continuously remind our citizens that we need their support if we are to keep crime to a minimum in our communities.
Q: Illegal immigration was a frequent topic of discussion during the past election cycle. You have been a part of a group of law enforcement officials working with Sen. Elizabeth Dole to address the problem. What's being done and more importantly, what's not being done on the local and state level to deal with this question?
A: In January of 2008 we began running illegal alien queries (IAQ’S), North Carolina General Statute 162-62, on all individuals who are processed through the Lee County Jail who are foreign born and have been arrested for any felony charge or driving while impaired (DWI). My staff at the Lee County Jail ran a total of 242 of these checks since January of this year. Forty-two of these individuals have been detected as illegal immigrants. 18 have actually been picked up by immigration for deportation. This sends the message that if you are here illegally and commit a crime, you are at risk of being detained and deported. Although we have made progress in dealing with this problem on the local level we still have a long way to go.
The North Carolina Sheriff’s Association is currently working to get our computer system tied in with the federal immigration computer system. This will give the Lee County jail the ability to conduct a more thorough immigration check on individuals who are foreign born who are arrested and processed through our jail systems.
Q: What's your assessment of the local illicit drug trade? How significant a problem is it, and what can your department do about it?
1 comment:
Many thanks for the outstanding work the Lee County Sheriff's Department has done over the last two years we have lived here. Although no one likes to see crime happen or be reported in their community, it is never the less encouraging to see our law enforcement successfully and regularly pursuing these criminals.
I also continue to be impressed with the communication style this Sheriff's Department has embraced which helps educate and inform.
Some amount of crime will always unfortunately be a fact of life, but with our local law enforcement proactively looking for solutions, we have the advantage to make Lee County unattractive to most crimes of opportunity.
Have a safe and happy New Year!
Al
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