Governor Roy Cooper today named Erik Hooks to lead the state’s public safety department to direct statewide law enforcement, emergency management, juvenile justice, and corrections divisions.
“He has the utmost integrity and determination to keep the people of our state safe,” Cooper said. “North Carolina can depend on him to bring hard work and dedication to the mission of public safety.”
Hooks rose through the ranks of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, starting as a special agent in northeastern counties in 1989 and rising to Assistant Director over the Professional Standards division by 2014. Most recently he oversaw the Threat Assessment and State Asset Investigations Unit and in the Inspections and Compliance Unit.
The Department of Public Safety includes critical resources like the state Highway Patrol, the SBI and Alcohol Law Enforcement. It also supplies public safety support for local police and sheriffs as well as emergency response in case of natural disasters such as hurricanes or snowstorms. It also maintains the state's prisons and its juvenile justice systems.
Hooks holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in criminal justice as well as a master’s degree in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Organizational Management and Research from North Carolina State University.
He is a native of Spring Lake, North Carolina.