Fayette County sheriff elected to National Sheriffs’ Association board
Fayette County’s sheriff has been elected to the board of directors for the National Sheriffs’ Association.
James Custer, who’s served as Fayette’s sheriff since 2016, was elected to the position during the NSA’s annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri late last month.
“I like being involved, and I think on the national level with National Sheriffs’ Association, I have an opportunity to find out what’s happening first-hand in my career of law enforcement, and it better prepares me for issues that may come to Fayette County,” Custer said.
In May, Custer was appointed to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency committee for a four-year term by Gov. Tom Wolf, and he made history in 2020 as the first sheriff from Fayette County to be elected the president of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association.
His election to the NSA board is his first national position he’s held, and he’s the first sheriff from Fayette County to serve on the NSA board.
The NSA is one of the largest nonprofit associations of law enforcement professionals in the United States, representing more than 3,000 elected sheriffs across the nation. It has a total membership of about 14,000 individuals.
He said he is excited for the opportunity to work with the association’s leadership and the 19 other members of the board as well as the association’s executive director and the past presidents.
Custer said the board deals with everything from law enforcement issues to legislation concerning law enforcement. Throughout its history, NSA has also served as a resource for all law enforcement as well as local, state and federal government agencies, and is a key player in shaping national policy on critical criminal justice and homeland security issues in all three branches of government.
Custer said the most pressing topic at last month’s conference was border security, focusing on concerns about illegal immigrants entering the county, drugs and human trafficking.
Custer has been a member of NSA he first took office. He was elected to a four-year term, which expires in March 2026.