Sheriff Mike Chitwood is a second-generation law enforcement officer with 35 years of experience wearing a badge. 

 

He started his career in 1988, at the age of 24, with the Philadelphia Police Department. He worked in the patrol, tactical, narcotics and detective divisions, ultimately rising to the rank of Lieutenant. During his years with Philadelphia PD, Chitwood received 58 official commendations for valor, bravery, heroism and merit.

 

In 2005, Chitwood was hired as the police chief of Shawnee, Okla., where he served for a year before the city of Daytona Beach selected him to become the next chief of police. Over the next decade, the Daytona Beach Police Department pushed forward with innovative crime-fighting technology and community-based policing. Chitwood's introduction of CompStat and the department's early adoption of police body cameras increased transparency, accountability and trust in addition to enhancing public safety.

 

In the primary election of August 2016, the people chose Chitwood as their next Sheriff. Moments after 12 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2017, Sheriff Chitwood headed out on patrol with the deputies he was elected to lead into a new era of law enforcement in Volusia County. His goal: Use his clear passion for innovative, progressive law enforcement to bring the Volusia County Sheriff's Office to the next level.

 

Since that day, the relentless, resourceful and creative men and women of the Volusia Sheriff's Office have produced impressive results. With new leadership, new technology, better pay and more of the tools they need, the sworn and civilian employees of the Sheriff's Office have brought crime in Volusia County to its lowest levels in recorded history.

 

With recent accomplishments including the successful, complex transition to a constitutional Sheriff’s Office, the launch of an agency-run Training Academy and the creation of the long-awaited Volusia Family Resource Center, Sheriff Chitwood’s team has been able to bring VSO to new heights of service to the community.

 

Now seeking his third term in office, Sheriff Chitwood is not resting on past success. A father of three and grandfather of three, the sheriff is committed to building a secure and prosperous future for the next generation. That future looks bright when we have a fighter like Mike Chitwood in our corner.