JAMES WOOD
Staff Writer
The Board of Commissioners Public Safety Committee met on Feb. 17 immediately after the Rules and Legislative Committee.
Sheriff Austin Swing shared his statistics report for the month of January:
The Department patrolled approximately 75,958 miles across the county, up by over 12,000 from December. 761 warrants, 228 arrests, 375 people passed through the jail, 308 investigations. 71 traffic accidents occurred, 14 of which were with injury. 66 motorists desists occurred, 184 traffic stops and 50 9-1-1 calls were made across the county.
Swing noted that the higher than usual activity in the month of January, attributing it to a possible correlation with the winter weather that the county experienced then.
He followed the Department’s report with Drug Task Force statistics for January. According to the office, 20 reports or investigations were made, with 34 defendants identified or arrested. United States currency, marijuana, crystal meth, powdered cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, prescription medications and three firearms were among the items that were confiscated.
A member of the crowd asked if there was Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the county from the last Public Safety Committee meeting, inquiring about their current status and whether he could confirm or deny if they were present in the area.
According to Swing, the two individuals that the Sheriff’s Department were in contact with from ICE had allegedly been sent to Minnesota. In the last month, however, Swing said that he allegedly was told that they had returned.
Swing deferred to Chief Deputy Nikia Elliott, in which Elliott stated that ICE had not been in contact with the county thus far, despite the rumors.
“They have not contacted us,” Elliott said, “so if they are in the county, we’re not aware of it.”
Elliott cited that his normal expectation would be to hear from ICE officials, however none such contact has been made. He specified that he has only heard rumors about the speculated presence of ICE in the county.
During the New Business portion of the meeting, Commissioner Adam Thomas spoke on a proposed change to the registration fee for the Sex Offender Registry that would increase the yearly charge from $150 to $200.
He provided background and his reasoning for this change, citing the perceived growing amount of re-violation by convicted sex offenders.
“I started seeing an influx in news stories across the state of sex offenders re-violating,” Thomas said, “From either the crimes they had already committed, all the way up to murder.”
The fee has not changed statewide since 2008, which led Thomas to consult the Chief Deputy and Ryan Clanton to find a possible way to curb the amount of reoffending that occurs in the community.
He stated that the additional $50 would go to administrative fees and cost of personnel, and possibly allowing for more public signage for restricted areas for offenders. Adams also stated that this change may allow for a way to dissuade people from offending and preventing tragedy.
For more information about the Public Safety Committee, a livestream archive is available on the Bedford County TN Government YouTube channel and the agenda of the meeting is available on the county government website.