BOWIE COUNTY, Texas - Bowie County Sheriff James Prince says he is not currently planning on seeking re-election to his post in 2020.
At the end of 2020, Prince will have served 20 years as the county's sheriff.
With five four-year terms under his belt, that's
the longest run of any sheriff ever elected in the county, he said.
"Right now, I am not planning on running again," Prince said on Tuesday, hours after the news of his Lawman of the Year award was announced to local media.
Altogether, Prince, 66, is hitting the 50-year mark in law enforcement. He will turn 67 later this month and be 68 years old at the end of 2020.
His service includes 10 years of law enforcement in the U.S. Air Force and time at the Sherman, Texas, and Texarkana, Texas, police departments.
Then, he joined the Bowie County Sheriff's Office serving under then-Sheriff Thomas Hodge. He continued to serve as deputy under former Sheriff Mary Choate and sought election to the post in 2000.
He won the election and took office in 2001.
Though he never dreamed of going into law enforcement, Prince said he learned some rules that have served him well through those years.
He learned "right off the bat" law enforcement was not about writing tickets.
"It's about helping people and you make a lot more friends than enemies," he said. "My passion for it continues to grow."
His long career has seemed "more or less like a hobby to me."
"It was the icing on the cake when Bowie County elected me as their sheriff," he said.
When reflecting upon his career, some of the achievements he has the most pride in are the development of the BASE Program, the implementation of a search and rescue team and assembling a good group of people in BCSO.
In 2006, the Sheriff's Office introduced the BASE (Basic Awareness Safety Education) Program to replace Drug and Alcohol Resistance Education. The BASE Program takes a broader approach, teaching children better self-esteem, drug safety, Internet safety, fire safety and gun and outdoor safety.
The program is now taught in 11 Bowie County schools.
In the early-to-mid 2000s, volunteers established the Bowie County Search and Rescue Team that includes canines trained to help find missing people and return them home.
Finally, Prince said he was quite proud of his BCSO family.
Before becoming sheriff, Prince said he was warned that the halls would be lined with residents wanting to lodge complaints against deputies.
But that has not occurred. While there has been the occasional complaint, Prince said residents are quite appreciative of the sheriff's office staff.