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Job Report and Safer Schools

 

On January 1st , 2013, I was sworn in as Sheriff of Boone County. For the last several months I have been working and training hard so I can be as effective as possible as your sheriff. To date I have completed over 200 hours of certified law enforcement training. But-- probably the best training I have received is the experience of working side by side with the officers and staff here at the Sheriff’s Office. From executing search warrants, working crime scenes to working in the courtroom as bailiff, I have gained a deeper appreciation for what our folks do every day. All this just emphasizes the main point, which is we have a great group of people working here at Boone County.


One of my first acts as sheriff was to take our staff through a leadership class that emphasizes the value and importance of “servant leadership”. I believe this had a very positive effect on each employee. I also believe we have several folks working here who are excellent leaders and only needed a chance to prove it. Morale has improved considerably, and along with that, unnecessary turnover has all but stopped. Although any sheriff’s office and jail will have turnover, I believe we will begin to see the numbers reduce. We have changed our hiring process to hopefully make good hiring decisions, changed the way any disciplinary action is taken, and we are developing a mutual respect among the staff.


Safety in our schools has been a focal point lately. As we have seen, needless violent acts have terrorized schools across our country. It would be terribly irresponsible if we sat back in a state of denial and not take action to train and prepare to do everything we possibly can to prevent an event like this from happening here. The program we are developing to try and make our schools safer consists of making tools and resources available to our rural schools.


These resources include offering the following:


* On-site campus evaluations of each rural campus
* Suggestions to make campuses safer
* Training for school staff to recognize at-risk students or suspicious individuals on campus
* Lock-down, evacuation, and response plans when dealing with an active shooter
* Volunteer reserve sheriff deputies to have a presence on campus
* Law enforcement training to school staff members that would enable them to “carry” on campus
(Those staff members selected to carry would be chosen by the superintendent and the BCSO)

The schools would be able to choose all, some, or none of the above mentioned tools and resources. Again, our mission is to make those resources available with the end result of making our schools safer today than they were yesterday.

As always, if you ever have any questions please feel free to contact our office at 870-741-8404 or of course call 911 in case of an emergency.

Thanks for letting me serve you.

Sincerely,

Mike Moore
Boone County Sheriff