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Never have I seen the resilience of our Police and Sheriff's Deputies. Speaking clearly about our brave Deputies, I have never seen such a shortage in terms of man power which risks the lives our first line of defense as well as causing we, the public risk. With an unincorporated population of 53,000 residents, you may very well only see one Deputy per 10,000 residents spread over 70 square miles in each patrol zone. That is larger than the City of Concord and part of Kannapolis. This concerns me greatly...not only for the safety of our Deputies, but our community safety as well. Police standards require two officers per 1,000 residents. As Sheriff, I would double the number of deputies on patrol at no extra cost to the county by refining agency personnel. In recent history, the greatest setback during the Columbine shootings and our great natural disaster, Katrina, was effective communications between our emergency services. All Deputies should be trained in the National Incident Command System which was formed in 2003 by the The Department of Homeland Security. It is now a mandate for all Law Enforcement Officers to complete this program so all levels of government can communicate in the event of a natural disaster or man-made terrorist event. We are in today's world and need today's technology to succeed. Please note, as your Sheriff, I will be in uniform and on patrol as well as being involved in other aspects off the Office. The Jail situation could easily be solved with less than half of the money needed for the Labyrinth being constructed on our historic residential city. Why was the jail not built behind the existing jail? The property which is the Sheriff's parking lot would more than suffice the new jail, would not have cost the county a penny for the land, and could be built to conform to the existing brick structure. An architect could draw a simple plan rather quickly to conform to the existing building still leaving room for parking as well. Lets face it, the government says we need a jail; they are not paying for it, so simply build a square concrete and steel facility and save millions. I also believe education of the public in pre-emergency situations is paramount. Just as we have D.A.R.E. programs for our youth, we the shareholders of this county need information and training which can save lives in the event of natural or man-made disasters. As Sheriff, I will direct areas of responsibility, encourage community watches, give advice on neighborhood lighting, check door locks, and other security issues as related. The service is free; let's take advantage of it. Only when we can recognize problems facing our county, respond and act on the problem, monitor to see if it works - then we may be able to move forward. As your Sheriff, Deputies will be assigned to your area on a permanent basis to build partnerships, facilitate trust, and have knowledge of problems when the begin to exist. Please allow me to be your Sheriff in keeping up with modern policing. Only by working as a team can we address, solve, and terminate our problems. By remembering the past and looking to the future, we can live in a safe county which will be adequately protected under my plan. The only way this can work is to build partnerships with each other to protect our future. While any organization can only be as good as its members, this is especially true for the Law Enforcement community. Our customers have the right to expect the highest standards of integrity and commitment from those who take the "Oath of Office to Protect and Serve." Law enforcement has the responsibility to earn the trust and respect of our community every day, which allows all of us to build partnerships and protect our future. Please remember, broad experience leads to broad ideas and a prepared future.
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