Sheriff McCarthy
Bill McCarthy
Sheriff
Bill McCarthy was elected Sheriff by the citizens of Polk County
in November 2008. Prior to becoming Sheriff, McCarthy served for
two years as Chief Deputy.
Sheriff McCarthy began his 41 year law enforcement
career in 1970 as a Police Officer with the Des Moines Police
Department. He held positions as an Investigator, Sergeant,
Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Chief and served as the Des Moines
Police Chief until his retirement in February 2006. Sheriff
McCarthy was born and raised in Des Moines; he served in the United
States Marine Corps and is a Viet Nam veteran.
Sheriff McCarthy has earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in
Criminal Justice and a Master of Public Administration Degree from
Drake University. He attended the Police Executive Research Forum's
and Harvard's Senior Management Institutes for Police and the FBI
Law Enforcement Executive Development Program and is a certified
Polygraph Examiner.
Sheriff McCarthy served five years as President of the South Des
Moines Little League. He has also administered the Police Athletic
League, providing over a number of years a variety of youth
sporting activities for hundreds of low-income children in the Des
Moines inner city and was instrumental in reopening the Westside
Boxing Club and establishing the Eastside Boxing Club.
Sheriff McCarthy has represented southeast Des Moines on the
Pioneer-Columbus Neighborhood Priority Board. As part of the board
he contributed to the Citizen Participation Process by chairing the
Housing Sub-Committee and Vice Chair of the city's Central Advisory
Board. He assisted for several years in working for the Christmas
Food Basket Program for the Pioneer-Columbus area, a program that
eventually was adopted by the city of Des Moines.
Sheriff McCarthy has received a number of awards for his
outstanding service to the citizens of Des Moines by groups such as
United Way, South Des Moines Jaycees, the Optimist Club, Urban
Dreams, Children and Families of Iowa, the Greater Des Moines
Neighbors Association and various governmental organizations,
including the Vice President's Partnership for Reinventing
Government. He was also awarded the key to the city of Des Moines
in recognition of his contributions to children of this community
and was named as leader in the south side community by the Des
Moines Register.
Sheriff McCarthy is recognized for his work with neighborhood
and business groups. His emphasis on establishing meaningful
relationships with all minority groups and respecting their
diversity is well known. Early in his career with the support of
their Chief of Police William H. Moulder, he developed a plan how
the department should interact with the community, which he called
the Municipal Approach, a forerunner of what is now called
Community Policing.
Sheriff McCarthy drew national attention when he removed the
heavy metal flashlight from the tools carried by patrol officers.
This action followed a number of highly publicized use-of-force
incidents. While being criticized by some, this action has resulted
in broad support from many citizens and progressive members of the
law enforcement community.
Sheriff McCarthy has collaborated with area Chiefs of Police to
establish the first of its kind policy on police chases occurring
in Polk County. He has endorsed racial profiling training provided
by the Community Service branch of the U.S. Department of Justice,
which resulted in that instruction being provided to every member
of the Des Moines Police Department and the Polk County Sheriff's
Office.
Sheriff McCarthy was a driving force behind the city of Des
Moines' Homeland Security initiative, a plan now funded by the
County and every municipal government within Polk County.
He is a member of the Community Coalition Against Substance
Abuse and has served on many community, school, state and federal
task forces dealing with adolescent shelters, school dropouts,
youth groups and drug violence. He has served on the Attorney
General's Task Force on Juvenile Justice and was appointed by the
governor to serve on various committees and councils, including the
highly quoted Task Force on Disproportionate Representation. He
participated in the President's White House Policy Council meetings
on youth gangs and violence, helping to shape the President's
initiative on federal juvenile legislation.
Sheriff McCarthy continues to be active in many civic and
community organizations. He and his wife, Linda, have two adult
children and three grandchildren. His son Kevin is the father of
one and is an attorney who currently serves as Democratic Minority
Leader of the Iowa House. His daughter Kimberly is the mother of
two.