Stoneville police chief leaves to head county forensics bureau

Mike James spent most of Monday getting his new office in Eden in order. The rest of the time, he was getting his new job in order.

“Things went pretty well,” said James, director of the county’s new Bureau of Forensic Services. “I spent a lot of the day talking with finance people about the department’s budget and getting paperwork out of the way with human resources.”

Things have moved quickly for James the last few days. An advisory board made up of the county’s police chiefs, Sheriff Sam Page, District Attorney Phil Berger Jr., two county commissioners and a representative from the N.C. Highway Patrol approved James’ appointment Nov. 10 to head the bureau. He officially resigned as chief of the Stoneville Police Department on Friday and assumed his new post Monday.

“It’s been a whirlwind of activity since the board approved my appointment,” James said. “Obviously, there’s been no down time for a vacation.”

But James said he likes it that way.

“I’d rather get right into the new job,” he said. “I really think it’s going to be interesting – challenging, but interesting.”

The newly formed forensics service will work under the direct supervision of the district attorney’s office. The bureau’s primary responsibility will be the collection of crime scene evidence for police investigation in Eden, Madison, Mayodan and Stoneville.

“It’s really rough on small departments that don’t have their own forensic specialists,” James said. “Patrol officers and detectives are put in the position of doing their own crime scene investigations. Our job will be to provide them with the trained personnel and special equipment to handle those situations.”

James understands the limitations of small departments. In addition to working for the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office, James worked at the Madison and Mayodan police departments before becoming Stoneville’s police chief. He assumed that position in 2007.

“I know from experience that anything that can relieve the pressure on small police forces goes a long way toward freeing officers to spend more time in their communities,” he said.

The Governor’s Crime Commission approved a $525,000 grant for the Rockingham County District Attorney’s Office to establish the new bureau. James said the funding also covers two field agents and an administrative assistant.

In addition to handling crime scene investigations and evidence collections for the Eden and Western Rockingham police departments, James said his new bureau would assist the RCSO when the need arises.

“And they will step in to help us out if our load gets too much elsewhere in the county,” he said. “That’s the way it is in law enforcement – everyone helps everyone else.”