Alamance County sheriff outlines rising call volume, staffing shortfalls and narcotics enforcement

Sheriff Terry Johnson told the Alamance County Board of Commissioners on Monday that his office answered 89,018 calls in 2024 and is operating with persistent staffing shortages even as the agency expands specialized units handling narcotics, child exploitation and multi‑jurisdiction task forces.

Johnson said the county averaged about 243.8 calls per day last year and reported several operational metrics that he said are straining resources: 1,132,000 miles driven by patrol units in 2024; 4,972 traffic stops; 29 vehicle pursuits; and an average daily detention population of about 348 inmates. He also said the detention center is overcrowded relative to its intended capacity, which he described as about 376.

The sheriff framed the recent narcotics and gang enforcement work as driven by the county's interstate access. "DEA says Alamance County is a drug hub of the Southeastern United States simply because of our two major interstates," Johnson said. He described cooperative investigations with federal partners — the ATF, FBI and DEA — and local multiagency groups including an…