The county budget has been completed, and the sheriff’s office has begun the process of purchasing vehicles and equipment for the year.
In a future article, I will share a more detailed look at the revenue sources and allocations for the sheriff’s office.
Missouri’s new governor, Mike Kehoe, has announced a number of initiatives to address public safety in Missouri. One of the highlights of that announcement was to continue and perhaps increase funding for the Missouri Blue Scholarship. The blue scholarship provided tuition funding for people wanting to attend a law enforcement academy. This program has assisted several current law enforcement officers and is a great opportunity for anyone interested in a law enforcement career. More information about this program is available on the Missouri Department of Public Safety’s website.
Missouri has several basic law enforcement academies that are instructed through various colleges and law enforcement agencies. A person seeking a license to be a law enforcement officer (POST License) can attend any of the basic academies and then apply with departments that have an opening. The very large law enforcement agencies in Missouri have their own academies that recruits attend when they are hired. Another path that is emerging for people that want to work at smaller agencies is they are hired as a recruit and paid as an employee of the agency while they attend the law enforcement academy. This path is normally associated with a contractual agreement to cover the agency investment in the training. There are many openings in our local area and throughout Missouri. If you are interested in a challenging career that offers limitless opportunities to impact the quality of life for citizens, we need you to step up.
Jan. 1 also marked the start of a new term for me as your sheriff. This will be my second full term, and I am very grateful for the opportunity the citizens have given me. It continues to be the greatest privilege and challenge of my law enforcement career to serve as sheriff.
Several of our neighboring counties have new sheriffs that took office in January as well. Laclede, Pulaski, Shannon and Howell counties all have new sheriffs. I already know some of the new guys and look forward to meeting the others. I feel it is important to have contact with our neighboring counties as well as the agencies that also cover Texas County. I meet with the city police chiefs in Texas County on a weekly basis and have had recent meetings with the Missouri State Highway Patrol as well.
Chief Deputy Rowdy Douglas and I recently toured the new Licking Police Department facility. The new facility is a great addition to the Licking community and will benefit the sheriff’s office as well. The police department has interview rooms and areas available that deputies can utilize while working cases in that area. After serving as police chief of Licking for 12 years, I can confidently say that this upgrade was needed many years ago. The one room, all everything office was not conducive to interviewing suspects, witnesses or victims. This new facility should serve the citizens of Licking well, for many years to come, and will increase public safety.
Texas County deputies and sheriff completed 916 written reports in 2024 and answered over 9,000 calls for service. In January of 2025, the most prominent offenses that generated reports were domestic assault, nine; stealing, five; and warrant arrests, four.