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Sheriff Tim Gobble takes a look at the progess, so far, in his administration's term. A BRIEFING FROM SHERIFF TIM GOBBLE Dear Citizens of Bradley County: I again want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your sheriff. I have now been in office for about six months and many of the policy initiatives I set forth in the campaign are already underway. I want to keep you informed of our progress and goals for the future.
Following is a brief recap of a few of our recent accomplishments and a brief outline of some of the initiatives we are currently working on.
New Mission Statement
On September 1, 2006, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office instituted a new mission statement that is simple, easy to remember, and more clearly defines our mission. It reads, “It is the mission of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office to provide honest, fair and professional law enforcement services to the citizens of Bradley County while managing resources effectively to prevent and reduce crime.”
Reorganized to Streamline Operations and Increase Efficiency
In keeping with the mission, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office recently re-organized its top-level command staff, eliminating 10 top-heavy management positions and shifting these resources to the field to enhance the delivery of law enforcement services. The BCSO is now organized into five divisions, which includes: Patrol Services, Criminal Investigations, Corrections, Training & Support Services, and Judicial Services. Each division has various units within it and is headed by a captain who reports to the sheriff through the chief deputy.
Increasing Patrols, Solving More Crime, Reducing the Backlog of Warrants
As a result of this re-organization, the BCSO has increased the number of patrols on the street, further helping to deter and prevent crime. This increase in patrols has allowed the BCSO to be more proactive and we are experiencing an increase in the number of criminals we are catching in the act. Additionally, with more deputies in the field, we are able to follow up on more leads and solve more cases. This increase in the number of patrol units has also helped to enhance officer safety and reduce the backlog of unserved warrants bringing more criminals to justice and significantly increasing the amount of fines paid to the county.
Increasing Professionalism through Accreditation
An accreditation manager has been appointed to begin the CALEA accreditation process that will further enhance our professionalism by improving crime prevention, establishing essential management procedures, establishing fair and nondiscriminatory personnel practices, improving the delivery of services, providing better interagency cooperation, and increasing staff and community confidence in the agency. Currently, there are only three other sheriff’s offices in the state that have achieved this professional milestone and it is my goal for the BCSO to become the fourth.
Honoring America and all Veterans
The BCSO is proud to honor our nation and all of our county veterans by displaying the American flag on all of our patrol vehicles. The displaying of this flag is a daily reminder of the wonderful freedoms we enjoy and the sacrifice made by our veterans to defend those freedoms.
Replacing Outdated Equipment with New Technology
With help from the County Commission, the BCSO was able to replace old, outdated bullet resistant vests with new Level III bullet resistant vests offering a greater level of protection for our deputies while they work to protect our county.
Improving the Professional Appearance of Deputies
One highly visible change you may have noticed is the new uniforms our deputies are now wearing. These uniforms were purchased using the existing uniform allowance within the budget and provide a more professional appearance, as well as durability.
Installing Video Camera Systems in Patrol Cars
The BCSO has now equipped 15 patrol units with in-car video systems and we hope to complete the installation of these systems in all our patrol cars in the near future. By installing these cameras, we will enhance criminal prosecutions by further documenting evidence of criminal acts and help promote and ensure officer compliance with professional standards.
Promoting Open Lines of Communication and Accessibility
In an effort to be more accessible to the public and promote open lines of communication with the community, I, along with our public information officer Bob Gault and others, regularly appear on two local radio programs. One of these programs airs on WBAC, an AM station and the other on WCLE, an FM station. During these broadcasts, one of which is live, we discuss issues of public concern as related to law enforcement matters and answer your questions.
Instituting a Wellness and Fitness Program
The BCSO has instituted a wellness and fitness program for deputies and now requires deputies to participate in a physical training assessment twice yearly. This program is designed to assist deputies in developing a healthy lifestyle that will result in less on-the-job injuries. Additionally, by participating in such a program, deputies will be better able to defend themselves and protect you. As part of this program, I purchased some gym equipment at no cost to the local taxpayers using forfeited money from criminals which was contained in the Drug Fund.
Saving Taxpayer Money on Inmate Food Services
The Sheriff’s Office recently renegotiated its contract with ABL, the company that provides food services to our jail facility. As a result of this re-negotiation, the BCSO was able to save the taxpayers between $35,000 and $45,000 per year in costs associated with feeding the inmate population.
Saving Taxpayer Money on Inmate Medical Services
Since last November, the BCSO has been looking at ways we may be able to reduce the high cost of medical services that must be provided under the law to inmates. We now benefit from a 50% discount on all medical services provided to inmates by Skyridge Medical Center and Erlanger Medical Center. We appreciate this partnership that helps reduce the tax burden on our local citizens. We have an excellent in-house medical unit as well and continue to explore all options that may save additional inmate medical cost in the future.
Saving Taxpayer Money by supporting a Workhouse for Bradley County
The BCSO is currently working with the County Commission to have the Bradley County jail declared a workhouse so that we may begin putting regular inmate work crews out to enhance and improve public property in Bradley County. This program will only use non-violent offenders and will serve to benefit the taxpayers by beautifying our community and saving taxpayer dollars by helping to offset the cost of their incarceration. This work program will serve to clean up, maintain and improve public roadways, parks and buildings. Inmates can earn credit on their sentences by participating in this program and by building a separate low-cost workhouse facility in the future, we will save county money by freeing up high cost critical jail space in the current facility for more violent offenders.
Helping People In Need
I have recently appointed Zoe Renfro as the BCSO Volunteer Community Service Coordinator. Oftentimes, those of us in law enforcement come into contact with those who are in need of social service assistance, but have not been linked with a provider or group that is capable of helping meet their needs. Additionally, many that are released from jail do not have any support system available to help them succeed on their own. Without this support, they often commit additional crimes and return again to jail. It is my desire that this position will help bridge the gap that often exists and serve to link those in need with vital outside assistance available in the community, reducing the recidivism rate in Bradley County.
We are proud to already be hosting a number of groups working inside the jail to provide no cost bible studies, counseling and adult continuing education programs that help inmates redirect their lives and provide opportunities for a second chance. BCSO employee Darlene Davis coordinates the times available for these programs to be conducted inside the current jail. In the near future, the Gospel Broadcasting Network will be available inside the jail for inmates to view on TV.
Improving Communications and Interoperability
The BCSO recently joined the new state contract for cell phone service, and by doing so we were able to double the number of cell phones used by the BCSO without having to increase our communications budget. This is significant because the two-way radio transmission feature provides us a critical back-up system for communications with our detectives, SWAT team units and supervisors in the event our traditional radio system fails or is intentionally disabled by criminals or terrorists. Additionally, many area emergency service providers use cell phones with the two-way feature giving us an additional option for mutual aid communications and interoperability when the traditional radio system is busy or inoperable.
Communications redundancy and interoperability is strongly recommended by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and others. This service provides us with a critical link in the field with 911 and area federal, state and local agencies. Also, it is important to remember that many criminals listen to our unsecured radio transmissions with widely available scanners and seek to capitalize on the knowledge of what local law enforcement units are doing. The cost of scrambling radio transmissions is currently very expensive and by using these cell-phones to pass critical text messaging and communicate critical and sensitive information the possibility of information compromise is lessened, officer safety is enhanced and taxpayer money is saved. Deputies are not always near a traditional radio or in positions were portable radios can be used and this form of communication is an absolute necessity for a properly equipped modern law enforcement agency. Most deputies do not have offices and cell-phone service is critical to being connected during both routine duties and emergency situation. One of my goals is to equip all field units with this critical form of communication, with the next emphasis being to make sure all of our SRO’s have this capability.
Partnering with Bradley County Schools
The BCSO is proud of the partnership that exists with the Bradley County School System and our ability to provide 16 School Resource Officers (SRO) on a daily basis. Each of these deputies helps to provide an increased level of protection for our children by developing partnerships with administrators and students to promote school safety through the exchange of information and early intervention to help prevent problems before they occur. Additionally, SROs teach the enhanced version of DARE that has proven to be effective in encouraging children to stay off drugs and make healthy lifestyle choices.
Working with the County Commission to Meet Statutory Responsibilities and Improve Morale by Instituting a Classification/Compensation Plan
My job as sheriff is to serve you by successfully meeting the statutory obligations of my office and one way I can do that is to attract and retain the quality deputies needed to carry out the complex responsibilities of modern law enforcement. Law enforcement is a profession that requires special skills, education, training, experience and a dedication that few other professions require. It is a job that cannot be done by the private sector and consequently it is vitally important that we properly support it in the public sector.
In this next budget year, I look forward to working with the Mayor and County Commission to institute a much needed law enforcement Classification/Compensation Plan like the City of Cleveland has implemented. By doing so, we can save taxpayer money in the long term by reducing the cost of lost experience, by cutting the cost of constantly re-training new employees, by cutting the cost of constantly re-equipping new employees and by cutting the cost of constantly buying out accumulated leave and comp time of employees that leave for higher paying jobs.
When I took office the starting pay for a Bradley County deputy was approximately $7,000 per year less than the City Police Department. By cutting top-heavy management, and redistributing the resulting savings to employee salaries, I was able to reduce this starting pay gap to about $5,000 per year and provide about 70% of our employees with a much needed and unexpected salary increase. Having done my part to streamline operations and save money, I am now asking the Mayor and Commission to work with us to eliminate the pay gap and provide the necessary operational funding to meet the statutory requirements of the office. The attrition rate of the BCSO has reached a level of nearly 50% of our employees over the last four-year period. No organization can remain strong with this kind of high-volume, revolving-door turnover. The time to act is now. We have made progress, but more progress is needed. Let's invest in our future by investing in our most valuable resource -- our people.
Thank you for taking the time to read this report and I ask for your support as we work together in a partnership of progress toward a safer community. ~Sheriff Tim Gobble
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