Sheriff B.J. Roberts
City of Hampton, Virginia
Throughout Sheriff B. J. Roberts tenure, he has held major roles in national, state and local associations, including presiding as the 43rd President of the Virginia Sheriff's Association from September 2001 to 2002, as well as serving as the President of the Virginia Campus Police Association, the Chairman of the Hampton Roads Regional Jail Authority, and the President of the Virginia College Campus Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Association. Sheriff Roberts has been a dedicated member of the National Sheriffs' Association since being elected Sheriff of Hampton, serving on numerous committees in various capacities. In 2001, he was elected to the Board of Directors and subsequently elected as the Sergeant-At-Arms in 2006. Sheriff Roberts is currently a member of the Executive Committee, serving as the 1st Vice President. On June 30, 2010, he was sworn in as the 69th President of the National Sheriffs' Association.
In 1971, Sheriff Roberts began his law enforcement career as a patrolman with the Newport News Police Department in Newport News, Virginia. The following year, Sheriff Roberts attended the Thomas Nelson Regional Police Academy and later earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Hampton University. Sheriff Roberts then launched a 19 year career with Hampton University's Campus Police, where he moved through the ranks to become the Director of Police and Public Safety. In 1992, he was elected to serve as the Sheriff for the City of Hampton.
Sheriff Roberts furthered his education by completing the Northwestern University Public Safety Management School, the National Sheriffs' Institute program, the Virginia Sheriffs' Institute's Chief Executive Training program, and the Civic Leadership Institute.
Since becoming Sheriff, he has served on various boards and commissions including: the Board of Directors for the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, the Board of Directors and Legislative Committee of the Virginia Sheriffs' Association, the Hampton Roads Regional Jail Authority, the Accreditation and Detention/Corrections Committee for the National Sheriffs' Association, the Board of Directors for National Commission on Correctional Health Care Accreditation and Education Committee, the Hampton-Newport News Community Criminal Justice Board, the Hampton Roads Criminal Justice Training Academy Board/Steering Committee, the American Jail Association, and the American Correctional Association. Sheriff Roberts was also appointed by Governor Mark Warner to the Governor's Special Commission on Sentence and Parole Reform, and the Inmate Population Forecasting Policy Advisory Committee. In addition he served on Governor Timothy Kaine's Transition Team.
Equally important to Sheriff Roberts is his involvement in and commitment to his community. He is a member of the Wythe Exchange Club of America, the Salvation Army (Peninsula Command) and Kenneth Wallace Neighborhood Resource Center. Sheriff Roberts is a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and also a former board member of the Hampton Roads Chapter of Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Alternatives, Inc., and the Peninsula Foodbank. He has also devoted his time and efforts to the City of Hampton's Athletic Association, working with the community's youth and has received numerous honors and awards in recognition of his work including: the City of Hampton's Citizen of the Year, Role Model of the Year from the 100 Black Men Organization, Public Service Award of the Year from CHUMS, Inc., and has been inducted to the Police Hall of Fame.
Sheriff Roberts currently manages approximately 195 sworn and civilian personnel and maintains the Hampton City Correctional Facilities which confines nearly 400 inmates. He has implemented a variety of educational, vocational and re-entry programs within the jail, as well as innovative programs that foster positive partnerships with the community, i.e. Project LifeSaver, Adopt-A-Senior, Child Identification, Class Action, Lunch Buddies, and 911 Cell Phone Bank, to name a few. Sheriff Roberts continues to execute the mission of the Hampton Sheriff's Office by being committed to excellence. In 2009, the Sheriff's office was presented the prestigious Triple Crown Award for achieving simultaneous accreditation from three national accreditation agencies. The Hampton Sheriff's Office is only the 32nd law enforcement agency in the United States to ever receive this award and only the second in Virginia to achieve such an honor.
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