Fleet management is one of the hidden costs of providing law enforcement services that citizens probably don’t think about every day.
People expect that whenever they call for help a police officer or sheriff’s deputy will arrive in a patrol vehicle. The Texas County Sheriff’s office currently has a fleet of 24 vehicles ranging from everyday patrol vehicles to reserve patrol vehicles, transport vehicles and tactical vehicles. Not all 24 vehicles are on the road every day or even every week as their use depends on the assignment, but it is still expensive to keep the fleet maintained and fueled. This is just one example of the many administrative duties of the sheriff in keeping track of mileage, repair costs and attempting to keep a proper rotation of new vehicles into the fleet to avoid expensive repair costs. I’m pleased to share that we have the resources to keep updating our fleet, while we have some older vehicles on the road, we strive to keep them well equipped.
On March 7, I had the opportunity to attend a career day at the Cabool Elementary School. I was joined by Cabool SRO Shane Wallace and Cpl. Jake Sellars from the Missouri State Highway Patrol to talk with students about law enforcement. We got the chance to meet many students and answer a wide variety of questions about the parts of our jobs that we enjoy and the parts we don’t as well. Cpl. Sellars’s big round “trooper hat” sparked plenty of interest from the kids.
On March 8, I met with State Representative Bennie Cook, Summersville Police Chief David Garrett, and Tressa Price, the executive director of Agape House. Agape House is a local domestic violence shelter. We had a good visit about local resources and security protocols.
The second week of March was the spring edition of the Missouri Sheriffs Conference. I had a chance to attend some beneficial training and discuss issues with peers. The conference also featured visits from the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. The most interesting speaker was Sheriff Mark Dannels from Cochise County, Ariz. Sheriff Dannels gave firsthand accounts of the crime and issues that are taking place at the border with Mexican drug cartels. Another informative course was emerging issues with Fentanyl, which coincides with the border issue. A river of crime and poison is flowing into the United States across our wide-open southern border.
On March 21, a training session was held about a new messaging system that Texas County 911 has added to send public alerts about incidents in the county. The sheriff’s office along with several other local agencies are partnering with 911 to use the system. I think it will be a great benefit to the county and more information will be shared with citizens soon on how the system works. March 23 marked the annual Lincoln Day event in Texas County and it was well attended by both citizens and elected officials.
As March came to a close, deputies responded to a violent crime involving a male stabbed by a female with a knife on March 28, resulting in serious injuries for the victim. The female was arrested and charged with Assault 1st degree. A summary of the incident reports for March shows domestic violence as the most prominent call, with stealing on the rise as well. Please follow our Facebook page Texas County Sheriff for updates about things happening.