From the
Sheriff's Desk
Welcome to Bedford County, Virginia! I'm
Mike Brown, and I have had the privilege of serving as Sheriff since
1996. As a native, I know that Bedford County is truly unique: rich in
history, tradition and in unparalleled scenic beauty. But in traveling
the globe throughout my law enforcement career, which began in 1966, I
was constantly reminded that Bedford County is also home to a special
kind of people, hard-working, friendly, loyal people.. downright decent
folks... people as distinctive as the county they call home.
These are just some of the reasons why
Bedford County is one of the fastest-growing counties in America: just
between 1990 and 1997, our population skyrocketed by more than 23%,
creating some very real "growing pains" for all of Bedford County's
public servants. This growth and the resultant challenges continue
today, and the Bedford County Sheriff's Office stands ready not only to
meet them, but to anticipate them and develop innovative ways to deal
effectively with them.
 As
you look at this brief overview of our county and its Sheriff's Office,
be assured that we never forget our duty to be public servants. My
deputies and our employees stand firm with me in our respect for the
tradition of this Office, which began on June 12, 1754; we remain
steadfast in our commitment to excellence for today... and preparedness
for tomorrow. Upholding, enforcing, protecting, serving, educating... we
are striving around the clock. We are the Bedford County
Sheriff's Office (click on patch for history).
See Sheriff
Brown's Biography
"They, indeed, are the very
princes of freemen; breathing, as they do, the pure breezes of their
own blue mountains, and daily learning lessons of liberty and
independence from the wild bird that soars in unobstructed flight
and proud defiance about the towering summit of the Peaks of Otter."
- Henry Clay Pate, 1852
on the residents of Bedford County
Home of
the Bedford County Sheriff's Office
Bedford County was
formed on what was then the frontier from
Albemarle and
Lunenburg counties in 1754 and was named for John Russell, the Fourth
Duke of Bedford (b. 30 Sep. 1710 -- d. 15 Jan. 1771), who served as
Great Britain's Secretary of State. (The Duke's influence lives on
today in the Official Seal of Bedford County and in a frieze on the
County Courthouse.) Another noteworthy event that same year was
the founding of the Society of St. Andrews Golfers at
St. Andrews in
Scotland. In the year Bedford County was born, George Washington was
22. Thomas Jefferson was a mere 11 years old, running and playing
in Albemarle County (which had just gotten noticeably smaller) some 90
miles to the North. Little did the young Jefferson know then that
he would build his private retreat,
Poplar Forest,
in Bedford County, (picture the President of the United States on his
hands and knees, showing his foreman how to lay the brick for an
octagonal foundation!) which would become one of his favorite spots on
Earth.
The central town of Bedford Country was
once known as Liberty, so named after the Colonial victory over
Cornwallis at Yorktown. In 1782, on 200 acres of donated land at
the geographic center of the County and with a new log courthouse, the
new town of Liberty superseded New London as Bedford County's seat of
government. Officially becoming a town in 1839, Liberty changed
its name to Bedford City in 1890, reverted to town status in 1912 and,
in 1968, again became the
City of Bedford,
which, in 1993, was recognized as "one of the 100 best small towns in
America."
Originally an agricultural economy,
Bedford County's industrial development began in 1880, and since that
time industrial growth has been consistent, fostered by the involvement
of its citizens. The county is home to a wealth of historic sites,
structures, and scenic tourist attractions including Smith Mountain Lake
(Virginia's largest lake) and the world-famous Peaks of Otter, which, in
Mr. Jefferson's time, were thought to be the highest mountains in
America.
Bedford is also the site of the National D-Day Memorial, scheduled to
open on D-Day (6 June) 2000. In 1944, Bedford had a population of just
3,200 and was the home of Company A, 116th Infantry, 29th Division
(pictured above). Bedford sent more of her sons per capita to the WWII
effort than any other community in America and lost 21 of them at Omaha
Beach on D-Day alone.
Bedford County is comprised of 764 square
miles in the west-central portion of Virginia's central plateau.
The area has a rolling to hilly terrain with elevations from 800 feet to
4,200 feet above sea level.
The spectacular Blue Ridge Mountains and
Parkway define the West. U.S. Hwy. 460 connects the City of Roanoke and
I-81 on the West to the City of Lynchburg and U.S. 29 to the East. The
mighty James River rolls along to the North, and Smith Mountain Lake
sprawls to the South. Bedford County is heavily traveled and frequently
visited. What makes Bedford County such a great place to live and work
has also made it an attractive target for would-be criminals.
Bedford County has also witnessed remarkable population growth:
over 24% in the last seven years, making it one of the fastest-growing
counties in America. There have been "growing pains," which have
been felt especially by all of Bedford County's public servants.
Together we are working not only to meet these demands, but to
anticipate them and develop innovative ways to deal effectively with
them.
The Bedford County Sheriff's Office has
worked hard to make it clear to all that crime and illicit drugs will
not be tolerated in our special part of America.
Since January 1, 1996, through dedication
and innovation, education and interdiction, the Bedford County Sheriff's
Office has improved efficiencies, redistributed allocations, enhanced
communications and launched initiatives to tally dramatic increases in
arrests for crimes virtually across the board. As a result of
input from alert citizens, dramatic increases have been seen in:
- Drug-related arrests, (a 400%
increase since 1996)
- Child abuse and exploitation
arrests,
- Traffic safety violations, (DUI,
reckless driving and speeding in school zones, etc.)
- "Deadbeat" parent arrests,
(including recovery of more than $4 MILLION in child support for
Bedford County's mothers.
- Child pornographer / molester
arrests, and more.
Late in 1998, the Bedford County
Sheriff's Office was one of only 10 law enforcement agencies in
America awarded a federal grant of $200,000 to continue its
innovative high-tech war on child pornography distributed over the
Internet as well as those who prowl the Internet looking for child
victims, a campaign which has already netted international arrests, has
earned the praise of the U.S. Dept. of Justice, and has also garnered
national and international media recognition for the Bedford County
Sheriff's Office's initiative, which has taken on a national and
international scope -- now known as
Operation Blue
Ridge Thunder: America's Internet Crimes Against Children Task
Force.
Since 1996, the Bedford County Sheriff's
Office has made numerous significant, if unorthodox, improvements in
ensuring public safety and cracking down on crime, and in getting the
most law enforcement "bang for the buck." Some of these improvements
include a switch from brown cruisers to white: a break from
tradition that has other sheriff's department statewide following. The
white vehicles dramatically improve visibility and thereby safety and
are less costly to paint, allowing Bedford County taxpayers money to be
spent on more meaningful law enforcement expenditures. One of the most
innovative was the addition of Z-28 Camaro funded largely by drug
forfeiture money, to the BCSO fleet for the Special Drug Enforcement
Patrol which, when coupled with the new K-9 Drug and Patrol Unit, makes
for some formidable interdiction in illicit drugs.
The addition of a Maritime Lake Patrol
Unit and a High-Tech Investigative Unit are other innovations already
yielding impressive results that are getting the attention not only of
citizens and the national media, but also would-be criminals. Sheriff
Mike Brown's message is remarkably clear:
"If you're going to break the law,
don't do it in Bedford County, Virginia."
For more information about the Bedford
County Sheriff's Office, or if we can be of further service, please
e-mail us or feel free to call: 540-586-4800.
Thanks for dropping by,
Mike Brown
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