Chief Deputy Hinson

Paul Hinson is serving in his 27^th year as a law enforcement officer and 14th year with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. Hinson was appointed Interim Chief Deputy in February of 2008 and was later named Chief Deputy in April of the same year. Before his promotion, Hinson had served as Captain of the Sheriff’s Office Professional Standards for three years where he interacted daily with the Sheriff, Chief Deputy and other members of the command staff while managing administrative investigations and conducting policy reviews to ensure the Sheriff’s standards were being maintained. 

Prior to Professional Standards, Hinson supervised the Narcotic’s Unit as a Senior Sergeant and served as a detective in the Property Crimes Section.  He has also worked drug interdiction for the Sheriff’s Office and served on the Hostage Negotiation Team.           

A native of Beulaville N.C., Hinson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Law Enforcement from East Carolina University.  He has vast law enforcement experience including Community Policing, Narcotics, Major Crimes,  Property Crimes Investigations and Internal Affairs.  Hinson holds an Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate from the North Carolina Training and Standards Commission and has specialized training in Narcotics, Internal Affairs, Anti- Terrorism, and Hostage Negotiation.     

Hinson began his law enforcement career in 1984, finishing second in the Basic Law Enforcement training with the Jacksonville N.C. Police Department.  He served for three years rising to Police Officer II before making the decision to continue his education at ECU.  While earning his degree in Greenville, Hinson worked full time for the University Police Department as a patrol officer until he joined the Kinston Police Department in 1990.

During his six year career at Kinston, Hinson was selected to develop the department’s first Community Policing program, focusing on crime prevention and the utilization of existing community resources to combat criminal activity in the toughest parts of town.  The program, in part, was credited with a drastic reduction of violent crime. Following the success of the Community Policing program, Hinson was assigned to the Investigative Division where he worked Narcotics and later Criminal Investigations.  He was promoted to Sergeant in 1996 and assigned to the Patrol Division. 

Hinson relocated to Fayetteville in 1997 because of a professional opportunity for his wife.  He and his wife Carolyn Justice-Hinson have been married for over 20 years and have two children, Nick and Ivy.