The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
John Jefferson Seeks Re-Election
Hancock County Sheriff John Jefferson announced that he will seek re-election to a third term as Sheriff. Sheriff Jefferson said the decision to run for a third term was an easy one to make as he has thoroughly enjoyed serving the people of Hancock County for the last seven years as their Sheriff.
"I believe we have one of the most experienced staff ever in the history of the Sheriff's Office," Jefferson is quoted as saying.
Our deputies have over 124 years of combined experience in law enforcement. We are committed to our citizens to keep them safe and to continue to make Hancock County a great place to raise a family. To accomplish this, we need a good working relationship with all the law enforcement agencies that work in our county.
Jefferson said his office works closely with all the City Police Departments, State and Conservation Police and State and Federal Drug Enforcement Agencies. He said we work very closely with Iowa and Missouri authorities as criminal activity does not stop at the Mississippi River. Our drug investigations have resulted in drug arrests as far away as the states of Washington, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and the country of Mexico.
Sheriff Jefferson said when he took office 7 years ago, our average daily jail population was eight inmates. We now run an average of twenty-four inmates a day with a one-day high of 43 inmates. Jefferson said even with the high number of inmates and the extra strain this puts on his jail staff, his jail has never failed an inspection by the State Jail Inspector or the Hancock County Grand Jury.
"We now only use funds generated by inmate purchases from the inmate commissary to purchase inmate uniforms, mattresses, blankets, toiletries, cleaning supplies and paint," Jefferson said.
"We try to use as little of the tax dollars as possible to run the jail," said Jefferson.
Sheriff Jefferson loves his 911 telecommunications staff. Our 911 telecommunicators are as well trained as any in the Midwest, and all of them are nationally certified Emergency Medical Dispatchers. From our 911 administrator down through the ranks of men and women who serve as 911 tele-communicators, our staff is one this county can be very proud of; they are true professionals said Jefferson.
Sheriff Jefferson said running the Sheriff's Office, the County Jail and the security and maintenance of the courthouse is a difficult task with the limited budget that he has to work with. He said most county offices have somewhat predictable expenditures, whereas his office expenses are just the opposite. Jefferson said it is impossible to predict how many inmates you'll have to feed and house per month and how many of them will require medical attention and medicine.
He said you cannot predict the price of gasoline and which Sheriff's vehicles will break down. Jefferson said you never know what crimes are going to be committed that will require overtime man hours. He said the annual budget is a challenge but he has worked hard to stay within his yearly budget. Jefferson said it is also important that people understand how hard he and his staff work to bring funds into the county.
Last year, approximately $45,000 was generated by criminal fines, $60,000 was generated by traffic fines, about $14,000 was brought in by drug fines, and $10,000 was brought in by serving civil papers.
Jefferson said he has also been very active in trying to obtain funds from grants and other funding. Since he has been in office, he has obtained funding for many items without using county taxpayer's dollars.
We have received about $100,000 in grants to buy new squad cars. He was also able to receive a $25,000 telecommunications grant that allowed for the first time police cars, ambulances and fire trucks to talk vehicle to vehicle directly without having their communication relayed through dispatch. Jefferson said this grant was used to install new equipment on the emergency services repeater towers in Augusta, Carthage, Dallas City, Nauvoo, and Warsaw. Everyone in the county involved in emergency services now benefit from those tower upgrades.
Sheriff Jefferson said he was also able to obtain grants for bulletproof vests, night-vision equipment, computer equipment, wireless internet services, and weapons for his office.
The illegal drug manufacturing, distribution and trafficking is still our number one problem in the county with methamphetamine now being the drug of choice by drug users said Jefferson. He said that in an effort to deal with this problem, he and his staff have received additional advanced training, created their own drug investigation team and his office is one of the few in the state with D.E.A. Clandestine Lab Certified personnel and a D.E.A. Clandestine Lab Certified Site Safety Officer.
"We will continue to pursue, investigate and arrest those individuals that wish to be involved in this illegal activity as long as I'm Sheriff," Jefferson said, "I don't want this stuff around our kids."
Sheriff Jefferson said he is happy with the accomplishments he and his staff have made in the last seven years. He said he has a great team of Deputies, Reserve Deputies, Courthouse Security Officers, Correctional Officers and Telecommunicators and he would love to keep this team together and continue his work as Sheriff.
Jefferson said his job is challenging and requires many hours attention beyond the normal workweek, but his wife of 24 years and five children have been extremely understanding and supportive.
Finally, Jefferson said he appreciates the people of Hancock County for the opportunity to serve and electing him to office. Jefferson said he would love the opportunity to serve the citizens of Hancock County as their Sheriff for another four years.