Sheriff Joseph D. McDonald, Jr. is the 30th High Sheriff of Plymouth County and the leader of perhaps the oldest law enforcement agency in America. First elected in November 2004, he was sworn into office in 2005 and reelected in 2010 and 2016.
Prior to taking office, Sheriff McDonald served for nine years as an Assistant District Attorney.
Sheriff McDonald is a lifelong resident of Plymouth County, having grown up in Marshfield, and made his family’s home in Kingston. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree, and Suffolk University Law School, where he received his Juris Doctor.
He is also a graduate of the National Sheriff’s Institute (88th Session) at Longmont, CO; FBI LEEDS (59th Session) at the FBI Academy, Quantico, VA; and the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee Basic Reserve Police Academy (Session 06-01). The Sheriff was a proud recipient of the FBI Trilogy Award.
SHERIFF MCDONALD'S PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
- The National Sheriff’s Association (NSA)
- The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
- The FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA)
- The American Correctional Association (ACA)
- Southeast Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association
- Southeast Massachusetts Detectives Association
- Southeast Massachusetts Prosecutors Association (past secretary)
- The Plymouth County Police Chiefs Association
- Plymouth County Police Officers Association
- The Plymouth District Bar Association (past president)
- The Massachusetts and Federal Bar (member)
- The Massachusetts Sheriff’s Association (past president, current member)