With all the talk from candidates on the changes they will make and how things will run if they are elected, I thought it might be helpful for the citizens of Shelby County to know what ACTUALLY is going on at the Sheriff’s office on a day to day basis. Then they can decide if the things candidates are telling them are even possible. As of today, only one candidate has ever actually looked at the numbers and what is going on.

As far as the Sheriff’s office being antiquated and out of date, three years ago we purchased a $250,000 state of the art computer system, the Spillman program. This is the most up to date reporting system of law enforcement that we can get. All deputies and investigators have new body cams and car cameras. They have body armor that was purchased just a few years ago. They have new tasers and any other equipment that they have needed or asked for. We have purchased one-two new vehicles every year for the past seven years. There is so much more to the Sheriff’s office than deputies and investigators, as important as they are. The jail and the running of the jail is the backbone of the office. Without qualified, trained jailers, we would have to shut the jail doors. The jail itself is old and rapidly becoming outdated. However, that is not due to anything other than an aging building and its ability to meet the county’s needs. Right after I took office, we removed all the filthy carpet that was in the front offices and replaced with flooring. The offices were filthy as well; they were cleaned up and painted. In fact, the whole jail received a new paint job inside. Several years ago, we installed locking keypads on the side exterior doors coming into the building and the foyer door for the safety of staff. The AC/heating, electrical and plumbing repairs are almost daily issues that we face. We have replaced all the air conditioning units in the jail over the past seven years at a cost of $25,000 each.

The cost of housing prisoners is another issue we face. We have a capacity of 60, but that is total. Jail standards require male and female prisoners to be separated by a given number of cells and halls. This can and most times does cut down on the total number of prisoners that we can house. If we have to send prisoners to another county for housing, it is a cost of $50 per day which can be a tremendous blow to the budget. Not to mention the extra transportation back and forth for court appearances. This is why we monitor the jail population so closely. This is also why we don’t take every minor violation for arrests. When the day comes that the jail no longer passes inspection, the doors will be locked and all prisoners will go to other counties. Long-range plans need to start now for a new jail in the near future.

Concerning Dispatch, all 911 and any other calls to the Sheriff’s office, come through dispatch. My dispatchers do a tremendous job at handling those calls with few rewards and much criticism. This last year, the SO dispatchers answered approximately 8,000 calls and dispatched to the agency it was directed to. Most times there are two but sometimes only one dispatcher to answer five phones, 911, and radio dispatch. So when you call and get irate at the dispatcher, you have no idea how many calls she may be handling at that moment. I would ask you to please have a little patience for the ladies doing an almost impossible job at times. I would ask this of all officers calling into the Sheriff’s Office as well, whether you are a deputy, constable, city PD, DPS, fire, wrecker, etc.

It is very easy to criticize something you know nothing about. The Sheriff’s office booked in 950 arrests this past year. Of those 950, only 350 were Sheriff’s office. The others were DPS, Center PD, Tenaha PD, Timpson PD, and constables. Our deputies handle mental health issues and transport to mental health facilities. They handle loose livestock calls; assist all other agencies with accidents and arrests, and serving warrants when needed. We do not make it habit of getting into another agency’s business unless they ask. At times, we must be referees for family issues and arguments. Reports must be done properly for cases to go to court. And anyone saying our cases are not good hasn’t read them. We don’t send them unless we have a good case and the evidence to back it up. We are not responsible for what happens once it leaves our office and goes to the DA or the County Attorney. It is then their job to see it through. We prepared over 1,200 reports last year on cases involving burglary, assault, drugs, missing persons, drowning and murder. Officers from the Sheriff’s Office deliver death notification; serve warrants, civil and criminal papers for court and more.

All the candidates are talking about changes for this and that. The truth is that some things will never change. The budget is what it is and no elected official can change it. You have the number of employees you have and that is all. There are no adding employees during the year that are not budgeted. No elected official, other than the County Judge, can enter into a contract of any kind. The talk of a done deal with other counties is definitely not a done deal. There are agreements that must be approved by the commissioner’s court and put in place by them, not the Sheriff. The Sheriff does not have free rein to run the county as he pleases. With that, I thank you for the opportunity to update you on the state of the Sheriff’s office and pray for our county as new officials take office for 2021.