Posted: July 30, 2010

Sheriff B.J. Roberts has been elected president of the National Sheriffs' Association.

Career in law enforcement

I started my career in Newport News in the early '70s as a patrolman. I worked for Hampton University's campus police and eventually as the chief of campus police. In 1992 I ran for sheriff of Hampton. At the time, the previous sheriff was retiring and I thought there was a good chance to make a move from the university, which I absolutely loved, to running for sheriff. I was looking for a career change, so I decided to take the challenge. As sheriff, I'm responsible for jail corrections, security of the courts, transporting inmates and processing civil paperwork from the courts that are served.

The department also does the booking intake for the arrestees.

Changing for the better

I'm on my fifth term. Elections take place every four years. When I came on board, Hampton jails were severely overcrowded. We were certified for 135 inmates, and in one period we had 500. We got busy and went to the City Council and talked to the city government about the problem. We got the ball rolling and built a minimal security facility down on Pembroke Avenue in Hampton. We worked with neighboring cities to house additional inmates. By working with the city and city officials, we were able to turn around a potentially dangerous situation. Under my leadership, we are accredited by three national associations: American Correction Association, National Commission of Correctional Healthcare and Commission for Law Enforcement Accreditation. We are the 32nd nationally out of 3,500 and second law enforcement agency in Virginia to have all three accreditations.

Law enforcement

as a career

I grew up in Hampton and went to high school there. I felt like every path I took led me to a career in law enforcement. As the captain of my football team, I always took a leadership role. I wanted to make a difference in the community. It didn't matter what the challenges were, I knew I could contribute somehow. The best part about being sheriff is building those community relationships. I enjoy going out in the community and working with juveniles, senior citizens and civic organizations. As the sheriff of a community, it's my responsibility to stay in constant contact with the community. As elected officials, it's also important to volunteer in the community. Not every sheriff does it. Most of us come from the community, and we understand their needs. It's our job to go into those areas and assist them. Our citizens need to see us in their community.

National Sheriffs' Association

We have about 20,000 members across the U.S. Our mission is to provide the training and information to lobby Congress and other government officials to the needs of sheriffs in the U.S. We want to make sure that we are at the table when any funding is taking place that will affect our agency. Prior to being elected president, I was on the board of directors, chair and sergeant of arms. One of the things I feel we as an organization must do is to travel to the state associations and deliver the message of our organization and how important it is to become a member. One of the biggest issues for us is immigration and how it's very important to have the funding necessary to protect borders. It's an honor to be the first African American president of the association. I think the timing has been perfect because I think folks were ready for a change. I don't dwell on it too much because we have more issues to deal with.

Legacy

I came into the office with a vision of alleviating overcrowding in the jails. I was prepared to work in the community and get things done. With the help of my staff we were able to get all three accreditations. I just want the community to remember that I did what I told them I would do and helped accomplish those goals.