ELIZABETHTOWN — Steve Bunn said this week that he will not seek re-election as sheriff.

In an exclusive interview with the Bladen Journal, Bunn said he will not run for a fifth term, calling his career as sheriff over after 16 years. He has worked with the Bladen County Sheriff’s Department for 30 years.

The 59-year-old Bunn said, "It is a good time for me to retire, while I’m still young enough to enjoy retirement."

Bunn was first elected sheriff in 1994, when the former Sheriff Earl Storms decided to retire.

Bunn grew up and attended school in Rocky Mount and began his career in Bladen County at Bladen Lakes State Park after he graduated from Wayne Community College with a forestry degree. After he had been in Bladen County for a few years, he decided to seek a criminal justice degree from Bladen Community College. After graduation, he was hired as a deputy and worked his way into the position of chief deputy before becoming sheriff.

"When I first came to work with the sheriff’s department, we had one radio and one telephone in the jail; all the work was done by had and on paper; and only one person at that desk for many years." Bunn said. "Now, we have a state of the art 911 call center with three people on the day shift and two on the night shift. They receive 40,000 calls a year recorded through our 911 call center. Our 800 mega-hertz radio system allows us to talk to our officers throughout the state and we are proud to be one of the first counties in our area to go to this system.

"During those early years with the sheriff’s department all of the addresses in Bladen County were routes and box numbers. It was hard to find and/or serve warrants. With the 911 addressing system, in place now, it has really improved the ability to find locations of people. The system is also used to page out fire departments and rescue. It has truly been beneficial to a lot of agencies" said Bunn.

He added, "The ‘Pistol’ system is another useful tool. It allows all law enforcement agencies to keep track of the criminals and their crimes and now officers have them in their cars. They can access all the files of anyone, on the spot.

"We have worked hard over the years to develop a good working relationship with our local law enforcement agencies, the N.C. Highway Patrol, SBI and FBI. These cooperative relations has helped the citizens of Bladen. We have also developed good relations with the federal court system, and getting a federal conviction, more so now than ever, assures us of longer prison sentences of these drug dealers, robbers and car jackers."

The sheriff’s responsibilities are the inner workings of 95 full- and part-time employees; the 911 call center; the geographic information system (GIS); the jail; deputies; and secretaries. Five of these deputies have been placed in the school system, working together with the board of education. All of the money needed for any of these comes through the approval of the county commissioners and grants — state and federally funded — have helped the department finance many of the needed requirements.

"The biggest challenges I’ve faced through the years is the drugs, gangs and the influx of Hispanics into our county," said Bunn. "Keeping up with the new types of drugs and becoming familiar with them, like methamphetamine and prescription drugs.

"We have uncovered a few meth labs but most of the meth is smuggled into the county. People don’t look at the buying or selling of prescription drugs as being unlawful. They look at it as being safer, but I’ve seen it kill a few people from overdose or an allergic reaction to the drug. Crime has gone up in Bladen County 400 to 500 percent over the years.

"With the onset of cell phones and the constantly changing technology, we are now able to track the location of the caller. Sometimes it could be someone in trouble or when someone calls in to report a crime or we can track some type of criminal with our GPS tracking system.

"None of this could be accomplished without a hard-working dedicated staff. Good employees working towards the same goal and working good together. My belief is to give the employee good training and then give them the right tools and equipment to work with and they can do the rest."

The Bladen County Jail was built in 1965 to house 40 prisoners. It now has been double bunked and on some days it can reach a total of 100 prisoners, according to Bunn.

"The county really needs to look at the prospects of a new jail. Operating the jail is very expensive and people don’t want to spend money on a jail, but a jail is a necessity." Bunn said, "A lot of folks in the jail are suffering from mental illness. The mental health system has boiled to the top - when the legislature decided to make mental health private - mental health care almost vanished - it was a step backwards. The mental health system does not do a good job. Mental illnesses need to be treated and dealt with and the mental health system won’t do it.

"We have always tried to do the best job we could. All of the employees under the sheriff's department’s umbrella have done a pretty good job of adopting to the new systems. And we are proud we’ve been good stewards of the county’s money.

"I’ve seen some good days, some bad days and some tragic days and they are tough. I hope I don’t have to witness any more tragic days - it takes the wind out of your sails." Bunn said as he bowed his head and shook his head from the left to the right.

Bunn has been married for 37 years. He and his wife Kathy have two sons. Bunn said, "My wife has had to raise myself and two young’ins. She has retired from teaching art at East Bladen High School recently, she is painting, and happy. I plan to do a lot of fishing when I retire and get me a job so I can buy some rods and reels and some bait. I will not do any work in the area of law enforcement."

When asked, what qualities make a good sheriff, he said:

"It will take someone who will work with and for the people of Bladen County. Someone who will be willing to seek compromise, you are never going to get all of what you ask for, and sometimes people just need someone to talk to. A sheriff needs to be a good listener," Bunn said. "Decisions that have to be made at this level are crucial and sometimes decisions have to be made in a split second. A sheriff needs to have a calm spirit, be honest and have good management skills and be of good intergity. Quick to anger and slow to think, is not someone for this job. Emotions cloud good judgment and a sheriff needs to stand fast in hard times. The last person to fall apart during a difficult situation is the sheriff."