Sheriff J. B. Smith has continuously been elected Sheriff of Smith County since 1976 and is one of the top two longest serving Texas sheriffs out of 254 counties.  He has been elected to his ninth term of office where he manages a department of 350 personnel and approximately 1,000 prisoners.  In the past 5 years, his office has booked in over 66,000 prisoners.

He is a graduate of Tyler Junior College and The University of Texas at Tyler with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice.  He is also a graduate of the National FBI Academy.

In the past 32 years he has been responsible for working and investigating murders with 80% of those murder cases solved.  This is 20% above national average.

In the late 70's, Sheriff Smith involved the University of Texas of Tyler in researching the education level of most prisoners and found that 75-80% did not have a high school education.  This fact prompted him to contact the Texas Education Agency to help implement GED clases within the detention facilities. This is one of many programs which he has implemented that has set the standard for other Sheriffs to follow.

Sheriff Smith was one of the first sheriffs in East Texas to re-introduce the use of prisoner labor for the benefit of numerous non-profit organizations such as the Junior League, East Texas Fair, Salvation Army, Heart of Tyler Main Street Program, Historic Aviation Museum, The East Texas Crisis Center, and numerous others.  Also for the last 25 years, prisoners have picked up an average of 55 tons of trash per year from our Smith County roadways.

As a licensed Texas auctioneer he holds numerous local auctions for various non-profit organizaitons.  In addition, as a 15 year member of the National Speakers' Association, Sheriff Smith has been called to speak to different organizations throughout the nation.

His first book titled "The Christmas Day Murders" was published in September 2006. This true crime novel has been distributed to numerous criminal justice classes in colleges throughout Texas. Only 1 in 10 books published sells over 4,000 copies, and Sheriff Smith's book has exceeded exectations.  His second book "The Unholy Ghost Murder" will be published in 2009.

The Sheriff is proud of his highly qualified and experienced team of crime-scene investigators who not only worked these murders but are called upon to direct or assist in operations all over the state.

On his ranch in the northeast section of Smith County, the Sheriff has raised a small herd of longhorn cattle, horses, and emu named Big Bird, one flying squirrel, a fox family and a major crop of ticks, redbugs, fire ants, and armadillos.

His philosophy on life is: "Blessed are those who laugh at themselves for they will never cease to be amused."

Written on the side panel of his patrol cars are the words We Proudly Serve, and the Sheriff really means it.