Sheriff’s Citizen Police Academy
Our second class will begin on August 14th and end on November 6th. Classes will meet every Wednesday from 6pm to 8pm. Citizens interested may pick up the application in person on the first floor of the Justice Center, the Jail located on Airport Road or print one from our website. Applications must be submitted prior to noon August 9, 2013.
The Sheriff’s Citizen’s Academy is established especially for citizens who are 21 years of age and older and are interested in establishing a productive partnership with members of local law enforcement and public safety.
The twelve week academy will meet one evening per week for approximately 2-3 hours per session. The class sessions will cover virtually every aspect of law enforcement. The curriculum will inform the students of operational dynamics of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, and the critical role citizens play in crime control efforts.
In addition to classroom training, the academy students will be required to participate in action-oriented activities, riding with deputies on patrol, a tour of the detention center, mock crime scene processing, familiarization with firearms, and mock traffic stops.
This class is limited to 15 people, so applications will be reviewed, references will be checked, and a criminal history of the applicant will be completed to ensure outstanding citizens are participating in the academy.
*The initial class will be held in the Training Office located at the jail.
Sheriff’s from across the state lobby against House Bill -1
Sheriff Sikes, Sheriff Nobles and 67 other Sheriff’s from across the state spent Thursday in Atlanta at the State Capital to lobby against House Bill-1. House Bill-1 was introduced by Representative Wendell Willard of the 51st District, which is the Fulton County area. This bill, if passed, would take drug seizure asset funds away from Law Enforcement, placing an even larger burden on the local tax payer. With the help of Representative Al Williams and many others the bill was postponed until next year. At least this will give the citizens time to voice their opinions to their perspective Representatives. For more information on House Bill-1, go to www.legis.ga.gov/legislation
Sheriff Promotes Deputies
A promotion ceremony was held this morning in the Liberty County Justice Center. Sheriff Sikes mentioned how proud he was of his deputies and how honored he was to be the Sheriff of this county. He made a total of five promotions throughout the department and said it was the start of his reconstruction plan.
Transitioning Our Senior Staff
Sheriff Sikes gave Thanksgiving from within the department this morning as he promoted a few of his deputies. Deputy Lyn Long received a promotion to Sargent in booking. Lt. Boyd was promoted to assistant jail administrator. Captain Bruce Duncan who has served 10 years as our assistant jail administrator will take the place of our Jail Administrator Douglas Franks. Capt. Jon Long who started his career 39 years ago as a jailer under Sheriff Bobby Sikes was promoted to Chief Deputy. Mr. Franks along with Chief Deputy Keith Moran will retire at the end of this year.
These positions are very viable to this department and making sure the right people fill them is a huge task. “Liberty County Sheriff’s Office has a good mix of senior staff and being able to promote in house is always a good thing” says Sheriff Sikes. These promotions represent 85 plus years of experience and having this experience in our department means a lot.
Update
The Sheriff’s Office has really been thriving since our last Spotlight. Sheriff Sikes has implemented several new programs and policies that continue to be beneficial to our community. Sheriff Sikes is dedicated to improving the Sheriff’s Office and insuring policies and procedures are followed on a daily basis.
We have just graduated our first ever Citizen’s Academy Class. This Academy was started for those interested in establishing a productive partnership with members of local law enforcement and public safety through classroom and hands on training. We are also proud to announce the implementation of Project Lifesaver which is designed to provide rapid response to save lives and reduce potential for serious injury in adults and children who wander due to certain illnesses/conditions. Our website www.libertyso.com has information regarding these programs, as well as any contact information, a list of our most wanted, various news articles, employment applications and a list of our current inmates.
We are now taking advantage of federal training programs to expand knowledge and skills in our deputies, to include having a deputy work hand-in-hand with the U.S. Marshalls Tasks Force. Sheriff Sikes makes an effort to promote and acknowledge his employees, or as the old saying goes “give credit where credit is due”. Recently, among others, Cpl. Terry Perry was awarded the Medal of Valor for his act of bravery while working off duty at a local night club. This is one of the highest honors the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office bestows.
We have several new changes taking place this month. As some may know, Chief Deputy Moran and Doug Franks are retiring after many years of worthy dedication. Cpt. Jon Long will be promoted to Chief Deputy and Cpt. Bruce Duncan is promoted to Jail Administrator. Among these changes, Sheriff Sikes will be attending the Georgia Sheriffs-Elect Academy. This is a mandatory four week academy to better familiarize sheriffs with the operations of the Sheriff’s Office.
Hands Across the Border 2012
Liberty County Sheriff’s Deputies participated in The Annual “Hands Across the Border” campaign seeking to save lives. Florida, Alabama, and Georgia Law Enforcement Agencies conduct a joint effort to crack down on drunk and unsafe driving. The “Hands Across the Border” events were created when safety advocates from across the southeast met to find ways to focus on the importance of using occupant protection devices. In 1991, these advocates came together and created the first “Hands across the Border” event in Jacksonville, Florida, and Valdosta, Georgia areas. In 1993, the state of Alabama joined efforts. Today, states across the country participate in similar annual events.
Check out our photo gallery http://libertyso.com/photo-gallery to view photos from today’s event.
Don’t be a victim of SCAMS!
The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office would like people to be aware of recent telephone scams in our area. We have received several calls here from citizens in our county who have recently been affected. One, for example, we received was from and elderly woman who answered a call to her home saying her grandson was in jail and needed her to send money to his account. This is a VERY popular scam where in some cases the caller plays the role of the relative in jail. She immediately thought the call was odd as her grandson had never been in any trouble. She called us to be sure he was not in our custody and explained the phone call. We explained to her this was a common scam that people use to mostly target elderly people in getting them to send their money to the fraudulent caller.
Please keep this in mind when receiving phone calls like this. NEVER give your bank account information, Social Security number or any other personal information over the phone. Always call to verify what callers reason for needing money before sending it.
Helpful Tips:
* Shred documents useful to criminals, such as bank statements, credit card statements and offers,
* Register on the national Do-Not-Call Registry and hang up on all solicitation calls to avoid phone scams.
* Be wary of individuals who have newly befriended you or a loved one, and make an effort to get to know them.
Salt Cured gives proceeds to Project Lifesaver!
We would like to publicly thank “Salt Cured” for their donation to our Project Lifesaver Program. They raffled off a cooler over the weekend at the Coastal Empire’s Kingfish Classic tournament at the Ft. McAllister Marina in Richmond Hill, GA. Salt Cured donated over $1000 to benefit our Program. Project Lifesaver is designed to provide a rapid response to save lives and reduce potential for serious injuries for adults and children who wander due to Alzheimer’s, autism. Down Syndrome, dementia and other related cognitive conditions. Project Lifesaver provides equipment, training, certification and support to law enforcement , public safety organizations and community groups throughout the state and nation.
Hotel/Motel Scam (So simple it is shocking)
This is scary only because of how simple it is.
SCENARIO: You arrive at your hotel and check in at the front desk. When checking in, you give the front desk your credit card (for all the charges for your room). You get to your room and settle in. Someone calls the front desk and asks for (example) Room 620- which happens to be your room. The phone rings in your room. You answer and the person on the other end says the following, “This is the front desk. When checking in, we came across a problem with your charge card information. Please re-read me your credit card number and verify the last 3 digit numbers at the reverse side of your charge card”. Not thinking anything, you might give this person your information, since the call seems to come from the front desk. But actually, it is a scam of someone calling from outside the hotel/front desk. They ask for a random room number. Then, ask you for credit card address information. Sounding so professional, that you do, thinking you are talking to the front desk.
If you ever encounter this problem on your vacation, tell the caller that you will be down at the front desk to clear up any problems. Then, you go to the front desk and ask if there was a problem. If there was none, inform the manager of the hotel that someone called to scam you of your credit card information, acting like a front desk employee.
Bond denied for stabbing suspect
New details have emerged regarding Tuesday’s fatal stabbing of a Hinesville man. According to an incident report filed by Hinesville Police Department patrolman James Fulwood, who responded around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to the call of a stabbing in the Treetop Apartments complex on Taylor Road, fellow patrolman Cpl. Anthony Martin rendered first aid as Fulwood secured the area. Martin asked the victim, Johnny Williams Jr., if he knew who stabbed him. Williams, 59, reportedly nodded his head and told the officer, “Christian did this.” Williams’ wife, Carrie Williams, who lived with her husband in the complex and witnessed the incident, told the officer the suspect was Christian Thomas. Martin asked Williams, “Did Christian Thomas do this?” Williams reportedly nodded his head yes. HPD Detective Doug Snider said Thomas supposedly had been dating Williams’ step-granddaughter. Emergency medical personnel arrived, took over for Martin and transported Williams to Liberty Regional Medical Center in Hinesville. He later died en route to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. Meanwhile, officers interviewed witnesses. Samuel McFadden told authorities he had been inside the complex’s leasing office when he saw Williams walk past the mailboxes. Soon after, Thomas began walking behind Williams at a fast pace. McFadden said he thought he saw Thomas punch Williams, so he stepped out of the office and began to yell at Thomas to stop hitting Williams. McFadden realized Thomas was stabbing Williams, so he returned to the office and told office manager Ashley Seabrian to call 911. McFadden told Fulwood that Thomas continued to stab Williams as he lay on the ground. Seabrian said she called 911, locked the office door and watched as Thomas, who was down on one knee, repeatedly stabbed Williams. According to the incident report, Seabrian said Thomas finished stabbing Williams and tried to enter the leasing office, but the door was locked. Thomas ran off in an unknown direction. Officers scoured the city in pursuit of Thomas. Around 7:30 p.m., Patrol Officer Kevin Zieran spotted Thomas walking near the police department and called for backup. Lt. Terranova Smith arrived and found Thomas on Carter Street near a building that formerly housed a radio station. The authorities ordered Thomas to surrender, and he obeyed without incident. Thomas was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Thomas appeared before Liberty County Magistrate Judge Jimmie R. Bomar on Thursday morning and was denied bond.
Source: Coastal Courier
