Charles County Sheriff Fred Davis filed for re-election
Sheriff Davis began his law enforcement career with the Maryland State Police in 1964. He spent 17 of his 30 years with the State Police in administrative roles, including as a commander in the Narcotics and Criminal Investigations divisions and as commander of the Waldorf barrack. He retired in 1994 at the rank of 1st Lieutenant assigned as the commander of the Leonardtown Barrack. On Dec. 6, 1994, he was sworn in as the Sheriff of Charles County and was subsequently re-elected in 1998 and 2002.

"Leading the 592 dedicated men and women of the Charles County Sheriff's Office and serving the citizens of this community has given me great pride and I vow to continue to honor my commitment to public safety," said Sheriff Davis. "I am confident my law enforcement and leadership experience will continue to produce successful results."

Since Davis' election to the Office of the Sheriff, he has made many significant accomplishments to improve law enforcement services in Charles County. The crime rate per capita has dropped 26 percent since 1995 despite a steadily increasing population. This is due largely in part to an increase in the number of officers assigned to the Patrol Division. Sheriff Davis has added 142 sworn officers to the Sheriff's Office since 1994. Many of those officers are assigned to the Patrol Division, which has doubled since Sheriff Davis took office. In 1995 there were 80 patrol officers and now there are 161.

In 2001, he led successful efforts to earn international accreditation from the Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies and in 2004, the Agency was successfully re-accredited. CALEA recognizes law enforcement agencies who demonstrate professionalism and strict adherence to high standards and re-evaluates accredited agencies every three years.

Since Sheriff Davis took office, he has placed emphasis on the importance of youth programs as a major component of his law enforcement strategy. He has instituted or supported many prevention and intervention based programs including Teen Court, Summer Youth Achievement, Truth and Consequences, Safe Schools, Just Say No, an alcohol and tobacco enforcement program and others, including the largest single Explorer Post in the state and the Criminal Justice Program. He continues his commitment to expanding youth programs by working to add more officers dedicated to youth crime prevention and our schools and by recently supporting in partnership the creation of Charles County's Youth Drug Court.
Davis works closely with Charles County Public Schools to ensure the safety and well being of Charles County's school-aged citizens. The most successful accomplishment attributed to this partnership is the Juvenile Resources Program, which places officers in each high school to address school-related issues and foster positive relations between law enforcement. Juvenile resources officers also maintain a presence in middle schools.

Other partnerships with religious and community groups and non-profit organizations are important to Davis and have enhanced law enforcement in Charles County over the last 12 years. "Partnerships with the community are extremely important to me and to our public safety efforts," said Sheriff Davis. "I will continue to build new partnerships and enhance those that already exist."

Davis has instituted and enhanced a number of programs to encourage more community participation in public safety efforts and under his leadership, the Sheriff's Office offers crime prevention and safety education programs for everyone from the youngest students to the elderly. Continued support from every Charles County Board of Commissioners has greatly enhanced these programs. During his first term, Sheriff Davis successfully obtained grant funding and support from the Charles County Commissioners to develop a community policing program, which was quickly recognized as one of the best in the nation. He is also committed to encouraging victims of domestic violence to seek help and to holding the offenders accountable through the Domestic Violence Unit. In 2005, he created a Special Operations Section to address public safety issues. This included creating a Tactical Response Squad, which is comprised of highly motivated officers with a variety of training whose mission is to address on-going public safety concerns such as a robbery or burglary spree. They conduct both uniformed and covert operations and are able to focus their resources on problems and supplement the efforts of patrol officers, who address the same concerns but must also constantly respond to calls for service.

"The community policing program, the Special Operations Section and other initiatives and programs are crucial to our public safety efforts," said Sheriff Davis. "I am pleased with the success these programs and I am confident their services contribute greatly to the safety of our community."

Sheriff Davis is also committed to greatly enhancing Agency effectiveness through the use of highly-advanced technology, including mobile computers and video recorders in all patrol vehicles and a new communications system.

In addition to his law enforcement service, Sheriff Davis participates in many community outreach events, including the winter-water series that supports Special Olympics Maryland, United Way and Christmas in April, to name a few.

Davis was born is Frostburg, Md., and is a 40-year resident of Charles County. He lives in La Plata with his daughters, Julie, 21, and Jessica, 19, and his son, Frederick, Jr., 17.