Thomas Bowler, the 21st Sheriff of Berkshire County, was born and raised in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He is a 1978 graduate of Taconic High School and a graduate of American International College in Springfield, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in criminal justice in 1982 and a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice in 1988.
Prior to his election as Sheriff in November of 2010, Sheriff Bowler was a 24-year veteran of the Pittsfield Police Department, serving as a Detective since 1988. He was a key player in solving some of the city’s largest crimes, including narcotics offenses, kidnapping, sexual assaults, armed robberies and homicides. In addition to his work in the Detective Bureau, he served in the Drug Unit and as an Arson Investigator.
Sheriff Bowler was also an Assistant Deputy Superintendent-Security Affairs at the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction from 2000 to 2002, playing an instrumental part in moving the inmates from the former jail on Second Street to the new facility on Cheshire Road.
In addition to the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction, Sheriff Bowler operates the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Communications Center in Pittsfield, providing Police, Fire and EMS 911 and non-emergency communications for (26) twenty-six communities in Berkshire, Hampden and Hampshire Counties 24 hours a day.
In addition to the operation of the Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction and the Communications Center, he oversees the Sheriff’s Office Uniform Division, the Civil Process Division and the Berkshire County Underwater Search and Rescue Team.
Sheriff Bowler resides in Pittsfield with his wife, Dayle, and four children, TJ, Sarah, Katie & Meghan.