There were a couple of incidents this past week that helped underscore the effectiveness of the BCSO Patrol Division’s quick response time. Deputies answered a 911 call of a burglary in progress on JMack Circle in such a timely manner that they caught the two suspects still at the scene and immediately took them into custody. Credit also goes to a concerned and observant neighbor who called the 911 center to report seeing someone entering an apartment through a broken window.

The average response time to an emergency situation is around seven minutes. When I took office, that response time was eleven minutes. By better utilizing existing resources and reallocating manpower, we were able to put two deputies per shift in each of the county’s four zones. This was instrumental in reducing emergency response time by four minutes. By continuing to put additional patrol deputies on the street I believe we could reduce our response to five minutes or less. That would help us to do an even better job of deterring crime and catching criminals in the act. Right now we just don’t have the budget for any more patrol personnel, so extra credit goes to the patrol deputies we have who do such a good job covering such a large area.

The second incident of quick response came when BCSO deputies caught burglars in the act of robbing a home on Spring Place Road. These criminals had come into our community from Loudon County to prey on innocent Bradley County citizens. Criminals often turn to neighboring counties to ply their trade. Our message to these bad guys is, they are not welcome here, they will not be tolerated and if caught they will be arrested and prosecuted.

I also want to offer my congratulations to the BCSO drug interdiction unit. On February 4, BCSO drug enforcement officers pulled a car over on I75 for erratic driving and discovered three ounces of black tar heroin and over an ounce of marijuana. The suspect, who was passing through our area from Midland, Pennsylvania, was arrested and booked into the Bradley County jail and is currently awaiting federal prosecution. That heroin and pot was no doubt destined for resale, but because of the good work of our drug unit, it will never reach the streets.

These cases I mention by no means represent all criminal activity our deputies have stopped over the past several weeks. There was another outoftown couple from Stanton, Kentucky who were pulled over on I75 for failure to maintain their lane, and deputies found 248 Oxycodone and 54 Xanax pills hidden under the seat. Again, these highly addicting drugs will never reach the streets for resale.

It is due to the professionalism and dedication of all Bradley County deputies that the BCSO maintains an average clearance rate of 48 percent. That is actually 18 percent better than the national average.

I mentioned the BCSO budget earlier ~ I am glad to say we are ontrack with our budget this year in all areas except inmate medical care. That is an expense we have no control over and cannot always plan for, as there is simply no way to predict when an inmate may come to us with an existing  medical condition or may exhibit symptoms of a catastrophic illness while incarcerated. With the high costs of medical care, such a situation could result in exorbitant healthcare liabilities to Bradley County. That is outside our budget area because under Tennessee law, funding of inmate medical care falls under the jurisdiction of the county commission, not the sheriff’s office. Other than medical costs, I am glad to say all BCSO line items are on budget or have actually been reduced.