Jackson County sheriff candidate Curtis Lambert no longer has a job with the Sylva Police Department, but he says his firing last week isn’t throwing cold water on his campaign. 

Equipment replacement schedules were some of the first line items on the chopping block for local governments when the economy tanked.

The town of Waynesville plans to buy 15 new police cars in the coming year for $500,000, a move that will assign each officer their own vehicle instead of having to share.

It was Groundhog Day again for the Maggie Valley Police Department.

Last year, Police Chief Scott Sutton defended his department and officers against claims that the force is too large and its budget should be slashed. This year was no different.

Law enforcement agencies in Western North Carolina are cracking down on drug use in the region.

For law enforcement, video gambling is like a bad case of poison ivy that keeps cropping back up all over the place, and now, it’s going after them.

The Canton Police Department is considering selling two 80-year-old submachine guns and using the proceeds to pay for new and better equipment for the force — before the federal government possibly bans such weapons.

Officer Michael Harrison has confiscated everything from buck knives and Airsoft pistols from students at Swain High — but never a real gun. Until last week.

Harrison and the principal discovered a .22 Remington rifle and assorted ammunition in the tool-box of student’s pick-up truck left behind in the school parking lot after the 17-year-old was arrested for unrelated charges.

Ryan Scot Davis, 48, was charged with taking indecent liberties with a child following an incident at the Waynesville Walmart on Saturday, Nov. 24.

Although college for many is an oasis of learning, fun and social interaction, it is also a sprawling crime scene for everything from drug busts to rape. Despite its idyllic mountain setting, Western Carolina University is no exception.

Last month, WCU officials released their annual crime statistics report for 2011. The campus showed noticeable declines compared to 2010 crimes rates, including a drop in the number of reported sex offenses, aggravated assaults and burglaries.