Contacts

Phillip Miller grew up in Plainview Arkansas the son of David and Pam Miller (both deceased). Upon graduation from Judsonia High School in 1994, he began serving his community as a volunteer firefighter. During this time, he was certified as an EMT by Foothills Technical Institute, now ASU Searcy. In 1997, he attended auxiliary/part-time law enforcement training and was hired as an auxiliary officer for the Bald Knob Police Department.

In 2000, Miller completed the basic law enforcement training, graduating first academically in his class. Shortly thereafter, he began working for the White County Sheriff’s Department, serving in both the patrol and criminal investigation division until 2008 when he was hired as a full-time detective. By 2010, he had been promoted to Sergeant and then Lieutenant, being placed in charge of the entire criminal investigation division.

In March of 2013, Sheriff Shourd selected Miller from a group of candidates and promoted him to the position of Chief Deputy. Working alongside the Sheriff, he had the responsibility of overseeing the entire department and working with the supervisors of each division to ensure that the office provided proactive patrols, criminal investigations and apprehensions, attended to the functions of the various courts, and maintained a detention facility within the standards of the State of Arkansas.

Miller dealt extensively with budget preparation and implementation, worked in conjunction with the White County Judge, Treasurer, and Quorum Court to ensure that department needs were met within the budget that is provided. Since being promoted to chief deputy, he successfully wrote a number of grants which provided funding for different aspects of the department, including: detectives dedicated to investigating domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse; equipment and training for a special response team focused on high risk situations such as an active school shooter; equipment upgrades for the department dive/rescue team; equipment for patrol deputies to enhance and detect DWI offenders; and bullet resistant body armor for all enforcement deputies.

Miller was awarded by MADD for his efforts on DWI cases and was recognized by the readers of The Daily Citizen as the “Best of the Best” Law Enforcement Officer in White County on three separate occasions. He was named the Sheriff’s Department detective of the year in 2009. His experience, mixed with his over 1300 hours of professional law enforcement training, allowed him the opportunity to be an adjunct instructor for the Criminal Justice Institute.

In 2018, Miller was elected by the people of White County as Sheriff.

In January 2013, Miller married his wife Nicki and became a father to her two daughters, which he was blessed to adopt. In late 2013, they had a daughter and in 2016 added a baby boy. Miller is a member of the Searcy Rotary, United Way, and Optimist clubs. The family resides in rural White County and attends church at Highway Church of Christ.