Safety Tips

Are you thinking of applying for a Concealed Handgun Permit? Concealed Handgun Permits are a coveted privilege given to us by our legislature. Although it is a privilege, sometimes this process can seem cumbersome. This guide is meant to assist with answering some of the most frequently asked questions regarding this process. This process can take up to 90 days to complete after you have submitted all of the required documentation. You can apply for a new application or re

Sheriff Scott Hammonds would like to inform the public of an increase in phone fraud scams. Scammers pretend to be law enforcement, banks, government agencies, delivery services, or even your own family members. including children. More recent calls contain dialogue that appears to be the callers child stating the alleged child was involved in a wreck. The context behind the call stated they needed $14,000 to avoid jail time. Another call appeared to be the voice of a grandp

Sheriff Scott Hammonds reminds everyone to celebrate the New Year safely. Fireworks can be loud and disruptive, and we ask residents to use the non-emergency line to report noise complaints so 911 remains available for true emergencies. Sheriff Hammonds also strongly warns against celebratory gunfire. Firing a weapon into the air is extremely dangerous. Bullets fired upward must come back down and can seriously injure or kill someone, even far from where they were fired. We w

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office was made aware on an attempted scam involving people representing themselves as members of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. The person begins the conversation stating it as an "Urgent Legal Matter." Then, they present reasons for their call such as unpaid fines, warrant for arrest, fines for missed jury duty, etc. All of these are designed to get the person being called to pay money through various non-traceable means, such as pre-p

Residents of the City of Washington are reminded of the scheduled power outage taking place on Sunday, November 16, 2025, from approximately 12 am until 6 am. The outage is necessary to complete upgrades to the infrastructure. City residents can prepare for the outage by ensuring cellphones are charged and that any medical devices that require power have a backup power source. Those with home alarm systems should ensure they are properly set with the power failure in mind.