Haywood sheriff annual review
Haywood County Sheriff Bill Wilke addressed commissioners during their June 1 regular meeting.
Kyle Perrotti Photo
Crime in Haywood County appears to largely mirror national trends, according to a brief report Sheriff Bill Wilke gave to county commissioners.
As Wilke explained the stats, he offered insights as to what may be driving certain changes in trends; however, as he did so, he occasionally lamented the lack of immediate data to further explain correlations to national trends.
The sheriff, who lost the Republican Primary Election to Mark Mease earlier this year, began by noting that criminal investigations are up from 574 to 735, a 28% increase. However, with the same staffing in his criminal investigations division, that stretches detectives thinner. When Commissioner Terry Ramey asked a follow-up question about those numbers, Wilke explained that while he feels shorthanded in CID, there are other areas, especially the detention center, that are dealing with even bigger manpower issues.
The office saw a rise in child abuse cases, something Wilke said further stresses CID and the county Department of Social Services. However, he did note that amid a rise in such cases, the KARE House in Waynesville has “assumed a tremendous burden” and “contributed so much.”
While there were fewer search warrants executed by the office’s crime suppression unit, there was an increase in drug trafficking charges.
“I like to think that’s a reflection of the pressure we’ve put on folks trafficking up and through not only our highways but our neighborhood which is also behind the increase in search warrants in 2025.” Wilke said.
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There was a significant rise in both crack and powder cocaine seizures and a slight rise in fentanyl seized. Marijuana saw a slight decline and meth seizures saw a notable drop.
The county is close to opening its new detention center pending some state inspections. In 2025, 1,748 men were held along with 935 women. That’s a decrease from 2024 in male inmates and an increase in female inmates, something Wilke said tracks with national trends.
Wilke put special focus on his office’s reintegration program, which he said has yielded successful results for some folks who’ve stayed clean and more engaged in society after incarceration. There were 372 attendees of either Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or the National Alliance on Mental Illness meetings. Twenty people received medical assisted treatment used to help people addicted to opioids curb cravings. Other folks in the justice system engaged with other programs and services like Haywood Pathways Center and recovery court.
He said that it’s particularly hard to capture data on these programs’ true success. Relapses are hard to track unless they’re accompanied by recidivism.
“There’s relapse, there’s people who go into these programs and because of HIPAA we don’t necessarily know what happens to them when they come back,” he said.
Wilke praised peer support specialist Bob Cummings, saying he has reached a good number of people. Wilke said the key has been trying to relocate individuals serious about changing their lives to places where they can get a fresh start away from the pressures of the place and people they associate with addiction.
“We’ve had a good degree of success in it” Wilke said.
