Durham, NC (Tuesday, August 16, 2022) --- North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has appointed Durham County Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead to serve on the Governor’s Crime Commission (GCC). Sheriff Birkhead will serve on the Criminal Justice Improvement Committee (CJI). This is the second statewide appointment for Sheriff Birkhead by Governor Cooper. In August 2021,  Sheriff Birkhead was appointed to serve on the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice.

To learn more about the recent announcement from Raleigh, click here.

“I am again humbled by Governor Cooper’s appointment and will be honored to serve and represent Durham County in this way,” said Sheriff Birkhead. “One of my top priorities leading law enforcement here in Durham County is to ensure our local voices are being heard. This statewide appointment means we have a great opportunity to make our community better by having a seat at the table to effect change. Looking at the larger picture, this appointment also gives us a chance to help innovate and reform the criminal justice system.”

Sheriff Birkhead brings to this most recent appointment more than 38 years of law enforcement from a variety of experiences. After starting his career with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, he relocated to Durham to join the Duke University Public Safety Department where he was appointed Chief of Police from 1998 to 2005. After 17 years of service at Duke, Birkhead accepted the position as Chief of Police for the Town of Hillsborough in neighboring Orange County from 2005 to 2010. Birkhead has served as the Durham County Sheriff since December 2018.

The committee Sheriff Birkhead is being assigned to (Criminal Justice Improvement Committee – CJI) approves priorities and reviews applications for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. Once a grant review process is completed, the recommendations are forwarded to the Secretary of the Department of Public Safety for review and then to the Governor for final approval. Approximately half of previous awards are equipment grants used by local law enforcement across the entire State.

Sheriff Birkhead is also active in many professional organizations, including the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, National Sheriffs Association, and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). Under his watch as Durham County Sheriff, DCSO has achieved the “Triple Crown of Accreditation”; one of only three agencies in North Carolina and just the 29th in the United States to achieve certification from the following agencies:
 - American Correctional Association (ACA): Durham County Detention Center (DCDC) receives one of the highest scores ever earned for an office seeking accreditation for the first time in its history
- National Commission of Correctional Health Care (NCCHA): ensures DCDC provides the best medical care possible for detainees
- CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies): DCSO following national best practices for the 8th time in office history and the first under Sheriff Birkhead's administration.
 
Sheriff Birkhead is a graduate of Shaw University, in Raleigh, N.C., where he received a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice. He later earned a Master’s Degree in Organizational Management from Pfeiffer University.