DPS Dispatch

Hurricane Florence will be remembered as one of the most devastating storms to ever hit the state of North Carolina.  The monster storm battered the North Carolina coast, trailing inland, leaving a path of destruction throughout eastern coastal regions.

Twenty-four NC Department of Public Safety employees graduated from the 19th Correctional Leadership Development Program (CLDP) class on September 6, completing a yearlong journey designed to cultivate future leaders. 

Pictured Above: Millie Gordon hugs Western Region Director, Steve Bailey, as he presents her with the 2008 Old North State Award for the many decades of volunteer service to the NC Division of Prisons.

NC DPS Secretary Erik A. Hooks and State Crime Lab director John Byrd are leading a team of professionals charged with implementing a statewide system to track sexual assault evidence collection kits.

Encountering an active assailant is not a situation anyone wants to be in, but it is something we need to be prepared for. That’s exactly what NC first responders across several North Carolina counties have been doing this summer.

Last month, 25 male students from Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center spent a day at Frank Liske Park in Concord training with Carolina Panthers players and staff, including Mario Addison (All-Pro starting defensive end) and Kawann Short (starting defensive tackle).

During a visit to Robeson and Columbus counties on Monday, Aug. 13, Gov. Roy Cooper and state emergency management officials saw first-hand the work being done to rebuild areas severely impacted by Hurricane Matthew.

Tougher consequences now await offenders in North Carolina’s prison system who assault staff members, as the Division of Prisons takes another step to provide the safest working and living environment for staff and offenders. 

On August 7, when law enforcement officers across the state joined their local communities for National Night Out events, NCDPS officers were there, as well.

The North Carolina Wing (NCWG) of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) conducted a statewide SAREX (Search and Rescue Exercise) from 16-21 July 2018. The week-long exercise began with days of planning and preparation and culminated in a weekend of actual and notional taskings.

Society today oftentimes judges programmatic success from data and trend lines, but when it comes to Juvenile Justice, focusing purely on analytics and spreadsheets makes it easy to forget the Section’s mission to intervene and shape tangible change in the lives of REAL people.

Normally, a correctional officer focuses on performing duties that protect prison employees, the public, and even inmates when the situation arises. But there are situations that call on the officers to take the additional steps to save an inmate’s life.

Governor Roy Cooper proclaimed the week of May 6-12, 2018 to be Employee Recognition Week and May 9 as Employee Appreciation Day in North Carolina. To show appreciation for their hard work and dedication, employees have been spotlighted on social media all week long.