Sheriff Overton
Bill Overton was born and raised in Franklin County where he continues to reside with his wife Nancy, their adult children, and multiple grandchildren. He has been the Sheriff of Franklin County since 2012. His long and distinguished law enforcement career of 39 years has included work as a Patrol Deputy, a School Resource Officer, an Investigator, a member of Command Staff, and various other duties. He is currently a sitting member on the Western Virginia Regional Jail Authority Board and the Cardinal Criminal Justice Academy Board. Sheriff holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, and has also completed the Virginia Forensic Science Academy.
Since his time in office, Sheriff Overton has strengthened the Office of the Sheriff in many ways. The department has been accredited through the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC) since 2014 and is in the process of becoming nationally accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). He opened the Westlake Substation in 2014 to allow for additional assets to be allocated to the Westlake Area, with the higher population count, while preserving resources for all other districts. There have been many improvements in equipment for the deputies to promote officer safety, while staying on the cutting edge of technology advancements.
Sheriff has also developed programs that maximizes civilian involvement with office functions, such as the 12-week Citizen’s Academy, where residents receive an in depth look at every facet of what our office does, and the Citizens on Patrol program, which trains civilian graduates of the Citizen’s Academy to assist the Sheriff’s Office with tasks such as traffic control at events, funeral escorts, courtesy notes, vehicle unlocks, delivering of documents, patrolling schools and neighborhoods, and various other duties.
Through Sheriff Overton’s vision and direction, the Office of the Sheriff is a high-performing agency that strives to provide the best in public service to the residents and visitors of Franklin County.
Letter from Sheriff Overton
July 17th, 2023
It has been an honor to serve as Sheriff of Franklin County, Virginia since January 2012. As a resident of this County, where my wife and I have raised our family, I take immense pride in this office, our staff members, and this community. I am incredibly proud of the progress that this office has made since my initial election and primarily attribute that to the high-performing, dedicated members that make up this organization. These members, both sworn and civilian personnel, serve our community with great pride and our successes show because of that.
After taking office in 2012, one of the top priorities as the newly elected Sheriff was for this agency to become accredited through the Virginia Law Enforcement Standards Commission (VLEPSC). Two years later, in 2014, the Office of the Sheriff received our initial certification of accreditation award through VLEPSC. Since then, every four years we have maintained state accreditation by successfully completing strenuous assessments of our files and operations. In addition to maintaining state accreditation, the Office of the Sheriff has also achieved the goal of receiving national accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). The initial award was presented by the CALEA Board of Commissioners in November 2022. Assessments of files and operations will continue annually to maintain this national accreditation status. Proudly, the Office of the Sheriff is only the fifth Sheriff’s Office in the state of Virginia to voluntarily achieve this award.
In addition to these accomplishments of accreditation, the Office of the Sheriff steadfastly engages in Community Outreach through various events, our Citizen’s Academy, Project Lifesaver, and Citizen’s on Patrol. Information about these programs can be found posted on our website and our social media pages.
As we persistently continually strive to provide the best in public service to our community as a whole, it is our promise to follow the gold standard and best practices set forth by the accrediting bodies, while promoting accountability, transparency, professionalism, integrity, honesty, loyalty, fairness, and courage.
With the humblest heart, I look forward to continuing to serve as your Sheriff for another four years.
Sheriff W.Q. Overton, Jr.