About Sheriff Ted Paxton

Ted Paxton took office as the elected Sheriff of Forsyth County on January 1, 2001. Sheriff Paxton retired from the DeKalb County Police Department in 2000 at the rank of Captain after 30 years of service.

Sheriff Paxton is a graduate of Georgia State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. He is a "Dean's List" graduate of the 83rd Administrative Officer’s Course at the Southern Police Institute, University of Louisville, Kentucky. He holds certifications in Supervision and Management from the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.) Sheriff Paxton is a graduate of the National Sheriff's Institute in Longmont, Colorado. He is an active member of the National Sheriffs’ Association where he serves on the Legislative Affairs Committee as well as the Accreditation, Detention, and Corrections Committee. In addition, he is an active member of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association where he serves as Chairman of the Training and Standards Committee. Sheriff Paxton is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (LEEDA).

In 2002, Sheriff Paxton was appointed by the Director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) to serve on the “Area 6 All Hazards Advisory Council”. The councils play a vital advisory role in bringing together key consequence management entities to assist GEMA in developing response and recovery strategies for all potential hazards – manmade, natural, or criminal/terrorist in nature.

Sheriff Paxton is very active in community affairs and is a member of the Rotary Club of Forsyth County as well as the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce. He serves on several boards including the Board of Governors for L.E.A.D.E.R., (Lanier Extended Area Driver’s Education Resource). He is the Assistant Chair of the Northeast Georgia Police Academy Advisory Board; in addition he serves on the Criminal Justice Advisory Board’s of Lanier Technical Institute as well as Appalachian Technical Institute.

In 2003 Sheriff Paxton was elected to the Board of Directors of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes.

Sheriff Paxton was the recipient of the 2004 Governor’s Public Safety Award for Excellence in the field of law enforcement.