GREENSBORO − Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes and his wife, Dena, were awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in a ceremony Monday, according to an announcement from the N.C. Governor’s Office.

“BJ’s dedication to the State of North Carolina and the people of Guilford County should not go unnoticed,” Gov. Pat McCrory stated in a news release. “His service has been truly incredible and I am lucky to call him not only a colleague, but a friend as well.”

Barnes, the longest-serving Sheriff in Guilford’s history, has focused much of his tenure on crime reduction. The department has experienced a 46 percent reduction in crime under Barnes’ leadership, according to the news release.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s history museum is giving patrons an opportunity to look back at nearly 90 years of the state Highway Patrol.

An exhibit opening Saturday highlights the patrol’s history and showcases vehicles and other artifacts since the organization’s founding in 1929 to address the increase of motor vehicle traffic and resulting deaths on the state’s highways.

On display at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh are instruments that catch speeders ranging from a speed-timing watch used in the 1950s and ’60s to radar used until a decade ago.

Admission to the exhibition is free. It runs until August.

Nearly 1,800 troopers work statewide.

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The Pitt County Sheriff’s Office has been working with various East Carolina University athletic teams in order to promote an anti-bullying campaign.

The campaign started in November 2014 when the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office received two reports of possible bullying incidents that resulted in two teenagers committing suicide in Pitt County.

“Sheriff Elks decided that he needed to do something and that we weren’t doing enough to really combat the problem and be more proactive,” said Christy Wallace, public information officer for the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office.

After some brainstorming, it was decided that the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office was going to reach out to students with the help of some East Carolina University athletes and coaches.

“We decided the best way to get students involved is to let the people they see as potential heroes to speak out against the same thing and then they would be more likely to come out and speak against it as well,” said Wallace.

The campaign was kicked off with the filming of a Public Service Announcement featuring the East Carolina University football team along with members of the coaching staff. The PSA debuted on all major local networks and a few local eastern North Carolina stations on Dec. 4, 2014.

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NASHVILLE, N.C. – It was a late night operation. Nash County deputies managed to raid the house of suspected drug dealers without disturbing a sleeping 6-year-old girl.

Sheriff’s deputies carefully removed the still sleeping child from the home after finding drugs there and placed the youngster safely in her grandmother’s car. Those in the house were arrested on drug charges.

The ordeal got new Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone reflective. He thinks about the lives saved that will never be known, things difficult to quantify.

“The child never knew we were in the house,” Stone said. “That’s the type stuff I want to bring to this office … I told my guys, ‘You did a good job; you didn’t wake up the baby.’ That’s what I want to be about — the compassion and diligence, bringing the two together, getting the child in a safe environment. The kids who grow up today who are supposed to be taken care of but instead grow up in this environment … it’s gut wrenching.”

From the age of 4, Stone remembers taking the first steps toward his more than three-decade law enforcement career that would take him from overseeing prisoners in rural Robeson County to the N.C. Highway Patrol and now the top law enforcer in Nash County.

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RALEIGH — Officials from the state departments of Justice, Health and Human Services and Public Safety will train law enforcement agencies, first responders, mental health providers, schools and other stakeholders in southeastern North Carolina on ways to prevent and respond to school violence. The day-long symposium will take place Jan. 23 in Wilmington.

Chief District Court Judge J.H. Corpening II – a member of the New Hanover and Pender County Safer Schools Task Force – is hosting the “School Violence Prevention and Response Symposium” from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Friday at the New Hanover County Government Center, located at 230 Government Center Drive in Wilmington. Law enforcement, school personnel and mental health providers from New Hanover, Pender, Brunswick and Onslow counties have been invited to attend the training. Stakeholders will spend the morning discussing proactive approaches to preventing violence in schools, such as effective ways to address bullying and ways to identify and respond to mental health needs. As the day progresses, the focus will shift from prevention to developing a plan for a unified rapid response to the challenging but rare event of an active shooter on campus. These sessions will focus on increasing collaboration and clarifying roles among stakeholders.

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CARRBORO — The Carrboro Police Department has become the first in North Carolina to prevent a drug overdose death with an antidote drug now being used by a handful of law enforcement agencies across the state.

A Carrboro officer was the first to arrive last week at a home off Old Fayetteville Road where a man in his early 30s had overdosed on heroin, according to police spokesman Capt. Chris Atack. The officer, Teresa Kernodle, administered naloxone, a drug that counteracts the effects of heroin and other opioid drugs, reversing the overdose until paramedics arrived and took the man to the hospital.

All Carrboro officers were trained in using naloxone and have been carrying it since October, Atack said. This was the first time an officer has had call to use it.

It’s also the first time a police officer has used the drug to reverse an overdose in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Harm Reduction Coalition, a public health and drug policy organization based in Durham that promotes and tracks the use of naloxone by law enforcement agencies.

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CONCORD, N.C. – U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) announced today that Cabarrus County Sheriff Brad Riley will be his guest when the President delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress tonight. As a Member of Congress, Rep. Hudson may bring one guest to the State of the Union, who is reserved a seat in the House Gallery.

“While there’s been a lot of national attention focused on law enforcement recently, I wanted to show my support for our law enforcement officials by inviting Sheriff Riley as a representative of all the brave men and women who dedicate their lives to our well-being and security across North Carolina’s Eighth District. I’m honored to have Sheriff Riley as my guest to this year’s State of the Union address, and I look forward to continuing our conversation and focusing on ways the federal government can partner with local Sheriff Departments to better coordinate and meet the needs of our communities.”

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RALEIGH — Action taken by the General Assembly nearly four years ago changing the state’s prison and probation strategies appears to be paying dividends, both financially and in the number of repeat offenders, notes a recent study.

The Council of State Governments Justice Center has released a study showing that the 2011 Justice Reinvestment Act resulted in $48 million in savings during the 2013-14 fiscal year and contributed to the closure of 10 prisons. In addition, with fewer people incarcerated, North Carolina taxpayers avoided having to pay $500 million to build and operate new prisons.

The report noted the bipartisan nature of the Justice Reinvestment Act. Work on the legislation began when Democrats held majorities in the General Assembly. The efforts became law after Republicans gained control of the legislative branch.

“The prison population has dropped 8 percent, or by almost 3,400 people, since fiscal year 2011,” the report notes. “Overall prison admissions have dropped by 21 percent as a result of fewer people entering prison for misdemeanor convictions and probation revocations.”

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Within six months, visitors to the Justice Center will funnel through a single, guarded entrance with a metal and bag detection system as county leaders act on a judge’s order to add safeguards.

The changes probably won’t end there. An N.C. Sheriff’s Association consultant made 11 additional recommendations after inspecting the 20-year-old building, some that visitors would notice and others they might not. Among the most visible: no public parking in front of the building.

Superior Court Judge Brad Letts, this judicial district’s senior resident judge, originally ordered the county meet a Jan. 1 deadline. He granted more time after two new commissioners and a sheriff were elected in November. County leaders plan to meet with Letts on Jan. 20 during an annual retreat.

Sheriff Chip Hall says turning paper plans into reality means hiring personnel. He wants to reassign an existing officer to oversee court and courtroom security; hire two new deputies; increase hours of a bailiff from 80 percent to 100 percent; and create a detention officer position.

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ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. (WBTW)-The new year is bringing new laws to drivers in North Carolina. That is when it comes to drinking and driving.

Prior to January 1st if someone was sentenced for DWI depending on aggravated factors, they most likely served time in a state prison. Under the new law and a  judge’s discretion, they could serve their time in a county jail.

Major George Kenworthy of the Robeson county detention center says just because its jail, doesn’t mean it’s a better sentence.

“It’s not a benefit to the criminal, I will tell you that .That person out there, committing that crime, It’s not a benefit to them by no means. I have worked in both places, jails and prisons and I see absolutely no benefit to the criminal.”

The new law aims to house DWI offenders in local jails and free up space in state prisons for more violent criminals.

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