Sheriff elected to
lead state association
Dyer County Sheriff Jeff
Holt on Thursday was elected president of the Tennessee
Sheriff's Association. Holt, sheriff since 1994, said
his focus for the one-year term "is to continue what we
do best and improve where we can." A past director of
the non-profit charitable organization, Holt said he
"loves the association and all the good people who work
in it.".
Barker
named One of Two TSA 'Sheriffs of the
Year'
By
Katrinia Cornwell
The Tennessean
|
Sheriff Bob Barker
TSA Co-Sheriff of the Year |
The Tennessee
Sheriffs’ Association has named Sumner County Sheriff
Bob Barker as Sheriff of the Year at the 38th Annual TSA
Family Conference. Robertson County Sheriff Gene
Bollinger also shared the honor.
Barker’s
service as the chairman of the association’s legislative
committee, which reviews bills proposed in the Tennessee
General Assembly to gauge any local impact, and his
community involvement in Sumner were recognized.
“I was quite
surprised,” Barker said. “There was quite a group of
people on my staff that knew it was going to happen;
they did a good job of keeping it from me.
“It’s
a great honor and it was a surprise. It means a lot. It
really does. There are a lot of sheriffs that also
contribute and do outstanding work in their counties and
with the sheriffs association and serve on different
committees. It’s a good group to be associated with.”
After graduating high school in 1973, Barker served four
years in the U.S. Navy and began his law enforcement
career in New York in 1977.
He moved to Sumner County in 1979 and was employed with
the Hendersonville Police Department for seven years as
patrolman, traffic officer, SWAT team member and
sergeant.
Elected sheriff in 2006, Barker has worked for the
Sumner County Sheriff’s Office for 22 years and was
previously a deputy, criminal Investigator, jail
administrator, chief of detectives and chief deputy.
Barker has attended over 2,200 hours of law enforcement
training in his 31-year career and is a graduate of
Northwestern University School of Police Staff &
Command.
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If each agency is
accountable, we can reduce problem
By Sheriff David
Davenport
Published in
The Tennessean, Tuesday, 09/25/07
I found The
Tennessean's stories on prison and jail escapees
both informative and to the point. Any time a violent
person escapes from jail or prison, society is at risk.
As a sheriff, each time
we have an "escape" (usually an inmate walking away from
a work program) we immediately issue a warrant and enter
the person in the National Crime Information Center
database. If the person isn't found in 48-72 hours, he
or she is evaluated to determine the threat to the
community.
If the escapee has a
history of violent crimes, the Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation is requested to put the individual on the
Top Ten List to expedite the capture of the escapee.
If the escapee is a state
inmate being housed in a county jail, the Tennessee
Department of Correction is immediately notified of the
escape.
When a jailbreak occurs,
each law enforcement agency is notified by teletype
messages, and BOLOs (Be On the Lookout alerts) are
issued on the radio in an attempt to apprehend the
individual or individuals.
In the past two weeks,
seven inmates escaped the Hamblen County Jail in
Morristown. All are back in custody (one escapee was
caught in Texas) thanks to the diligence and hard work
of the Hamblen County Sheriff's Department and other law
enforcement agencies.
For the system to work,
each escapee should be put in the NCIC system and not
removed until capture or confirmed death of the escapee.
With approximately 150 state inmates still being listed
on escape status, the state Department of Correction
should have dedicated individuals monitoring and
updating fugitive escapee files routinely.
Since the TBI has
jurisdiction in tracking and apprehending fugitives,
they should be notified of any escape of state inmates.
I know most sheriffs view
escapes as a danger to the community and do everything
possible to apprehend and prosecute escapees.
There is a system in
place to identify these people and, as The Tennessean
story pointed out, most are stopped for traffic
violations or arrested for other offenses.
It would be great if
state and/or local governments had the resources and
manpower to dedicate full-time people to track fugitives
but, for now, we have to make what is available work. By
each agency doing their duty and not passing the buck,
we can improve the system that is in place to track and
apprehend escapees.
(C) 2005 - The Tennessee Sheriff's Association |
