Sheriff Beam Announces Intent To Run For Re-Election
Bill Beam, Sheriff of Lincoln County, announces his intent to run for re-election as Sheriff of Lincoln County in 2026
Bill Beam is a lifelong resident of Lincoln County and a graduate of West Lincoln High School. He has been the elected Sheriff since December 2018. He started his law enforcement career with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in 1975. He started work at the Sheriff’s Office under Sheriff Harven Crouse. He advanced through the ranks at the Sheriff’s Office holding the positions of Deputy, Field Training Officer, Lieutenant, and Chief Deputy. He retired from the Sheriff’s Office in 2010 but soon returned part-time as Chief Deputy Emeritus assisting with various operations of the agency. In 2014 Beam stepped away from the Sheriff’s Office when he was elected as a Commissioner on the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners. He served in this role until his election as Sheriff in 2018.
Sheriff Beam’s goal for the Sheriff’s Office upon his election was to ensure the Sheriff’s Office enhanced its Community Policing Philosophy to connect with the now Ninety-eight Thousand citizens of Lincoln County.
The mission established by him is – Protect Life, Protect Property, Keep the Peace, Tell the Truth, and Do the Right Thing.
Lincoln County and the Sheriff’s Office is very unique. There is only one municipality within the county. This makes the Sheriff’s Office responsible for law enforcement for a large population over a vast area of the county. He wanted to achieve his goals by adding additional manpower, technology, and innovations to the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Beam and his deputies have made Lincoln County a great place to work and live.
Below are the accomplishments he has achieved since taking his oath of office in 2018.
--Creating an additional Patrol District in the eastern part/Lake Norman area of the county. This district is known as “Denver District.” This increased manpower on the Eastern side of the county and allowed the district lines to move allocating more deputies to all approximate 307 square miles of the county.
--The new patrol district added twenty-five new positions to the Sheriff’s Office – 1 Lieutenant, 4 Sergeants, 16 Patrol Deputies, 3 Detectives, and 1 DCI Specialist/Clerk.
--Adding (4) Patrol tracking and Narcotic Detection K9s
--Adding (2) uniformed patrol officers to work within the Narcotics Division
--Issuing Axon Body Worn Cameras to all sworn Deputies and Detention Officers.
--Providing each Deputy and Detention Officer with their own issued TASER, including the latest TASER 10.
--Issuing each Deputy a Sig Sauer AR15 with Red Dot Optic Sights
--Switching to Outer Carrier vests with Molle Attachments to keep officers safe and assist in their health.
--Ensure all ballistic vests are replaced within the five-year manufacturer warranty.
--Participate in the switchover to the VIPER radio system for all Deputies and Detention Officers to allow for more efficient in-county and state-wide communication.
--Issue Less-Lethal Bean Bag Shotguns to Patrol Deputies
--Expanding the Land Search Team to assist with finding missing people and evidence.
--Expanding the Drone Team and its equipment. (8) drones of all sizes with Axon Drone and DroneSense streaming capabilities.
--Add (9) Radar units to patrol vehicles
--Purchase (2) Radar Speed Trailers and (1) Speed Sign Attachment
--Issue all Deputies a County Cell Phone
--Issue all Deputies Stop Sticks (Tire Deflation Devices) to end chases
--Add a fully equipped Crime Scene Processing Van
--Create the Crime Scene Processing Team
--Institute AFIS latent fingerprint examiner workstation and technician
--Add a Digital Forensic workstation to recover evidence on computers and cell phones.
--Expand the Lake Patrol to 7 days a week with 12-month full-time coverage
--Replace Lake Patrol Boat with Metal Shark purpose-built Law Enforcement Vessel
--Purchase a 2nd Lake Patrol Law Enforcement Vessel
--Expand the School Resource Officer Division from (7) SROs to (22) SROs. To cover all elementary, middle, and high schools within the county Jurisdiction
--Expand SROs involvement within School System by implementing Crime Prevention Curriculum taught by SROs. The STAR program and the LEAD program
--Upgrade Patrol Vehicles with vehicle specific law enforcement consoles equipped with printers, computers, arrestee transport partitions, and secure equipment storage
--Implementation of Clear View Digital Facial Recognition Technology
--Installation of (30) Flock License Plate Readers around the county
--New Denver District Office on N Highway 16 Business
--New Charlie District Office on Waterside Crossing
--Start of the Detention Center Expansion
--New Criminal Investigations Division and Sheriff’s Office Training Center Facility
Sheriff Beam is proud of what he and his deputies, along with the Citizens of Lincoln County, have been able to accomplish.
I stand on my record. I support my officers. I ask for your support to continue serving Lincoln County.
Bill Beam
Sheriff of Lincoln County
