Candidates for Wilkinson County Sheriff answer the questions on voter's minds based on Listening Lab Results
In sit down interviews with each candidate, 13WMAZ asked about issues important to you: violent crime, ethics in government and federal and state spending.
13WMAZ is bringing you answers to questions you have for candidates based on the information viewers gave us during the 2024 Listening Labs.
This election cycle, we're incorporating the results we gathered from the Listening Lab surveys Central Georgians filled out earlier in the year.
In Wilkinson County, the top 5 issues participants pointed out were: ethics in government, blight, federal/state spending, support for schools and violent crime.
We sat down with the two candidates in the race for sheriff: Chancey Allen and Richard Chatman.
In separate sit-down interviews, we discussed the three issues you said were most important to you when it comes to the sheriff's race
Violent Crime Listening Lab Issue 1
What would you do to reduce violent crimes in Wilkinson County?
Allen: "If we become more proactive in the county, we're able to curb the violent crime because it's just statistically proven that people don't go out and commit these violent crimes when a proactive agency is seen in the area at all the time."
Chatman: "I'm foreseeing now us doing what we call a real time crime center where we utilize every aspect of open source information and things of that nature where we can glean stuff. Everyone posts everything on social media. And so having someone, an analyst, to go in and sort through that miles of information to be able to give you something to bring back to your criminal investigations."
What role does firearms play in Wilkinson County crime and what needs to be done to address it?
Allen: "Firearms in Wilson County, it seems to have increased in the past couple of years and the use of firearms during drive-bys and just violent crimes within our community. Again, proactive enforcement is going to help that get out, stop stopping cars, doing things that needs to be done in order to curb the violent crimes with firearms."
Chatman: "Nowadays everyone wants to address every issue and every conflict with a handgun or a rifle of some type. What we try to stress through our C.H.A.M.P.S. Program that we have implemented our school -- which was at one point in time the D.A.R.E. program I taught that for years -- We're trying to get that back into our school systems and reiterate to young people that conflict resolution is the key to you resolving your issues and that's not always at the end of a barrel. Then it's to stress to the parents to make sure that you don't leave your handguns and so forth accessible particularly to the younger people."
How can you work with the District Attorney's Office to ensure violent offenders are prosecuted effectively?
Allen: "Working with the district attorney, you need to work hand-in-hand. That's a key component of enforcement. If you don't have a hand-to-hand with the district attorney, then you're essentially just kind of out there by yourself. One of the key components is enforcement, the other key component is prosecution. So in order for us to do that, we're just gonna have to have a hand-in-hand relationship with the district attorney in order to make sure that these violent criminals stay off of the street."
Chatman: "We have a great working relationship with our district attorney's office and always have had. The key is to making sure that, as a fellow sheriff said, making sure you get everything in these violent crimes before the blood dries and finding out as much evidence that you can. Making sure that all your T's are crossing and your I's are dotted. And that's where it goes back to training and making sure that you take whatever help that you can get in helping you solve the crimes. We were close with our local agencies, very close. We have a very close relationship. Wilkinson County is 449 square miles. It's 39th largest county in the state area-wise and we have seven cities and only two of them I think have pretty much around the clock police departments."
Ethics in Government Listening Lab Issue 2
What steps will you take to avoid conflicts of interest while serving as sheriff?
Allen: "Essentially we need to address that we need to have nepotism policies put in place. We need to have policies put in place to make sure that if there is a conflict of interest, that there is a stand-alone agency that can come in and take over the investigation. So, sort of like what the GB I's responsibility is. That's one of my main goals is to make sure that the sheriff's office turns into a complete transparent and open sheriff's office. So, if you want know something, you come to the sheriff's office and we'll enlighten you as much as we can. Of course, for me particular, I would never do any investigations or anything that were pertaining to anybody that I may know or anybody that may be kin to me. That in itself is just a complete conflict of interest. Again, I think having an outside agency come in and take care and putting correct policies and procedures in place is gonna be the first key."
Chatman: "One of the things that I've always touted myself on is the ability to, when I ran in 1996, is my slogan was sheriff for all the people. So when the people come in, I don't ask you if you voted for me. I don't ask you. I'll try to find out what your problem is and what I can do to help you solve it. Legislation did some things years ago in terms of what you call conflict may call conflict is that we can't have part ownership or have family ownership in bonding companies or security companies or record services and things of that nature. We've adhered to that. I've always been transparent. I tell people, I have open door policy if you wanna come in and talk with me, just make sure I'm here. You don't really, a lot of times, you don't need an appointment, just make sure I'm in the office and before you come by and I'll sit down and talk to you. But mine has always been one of transparency and making sure that the public knows, as best as we can release, particularly if it's not an investigation, of how we do and what we do."
What measures will you take to ensure transparency within the sheriff's office?
Allen: "Currently the Sheriff's Office doesn't provide much community information. One of the key things that you see a lot of sheriff's offices doing nowadays is Facebook updates. A lot of people don't have social media still. Our county is a rural county. A good number of elderly people as well. So there's got to be more than one specific way to get the information out there."
Chatman: "Disclosing as much information that will not affect the outcome of an investigation that might be ongoing. Other than that because I'm always open to explaining to the general public how we do what we do and why we do what we do."
How will you work to build public trust and demonstrate ethical behavior in law enforcement?
Allen: "I think community involvement is definitely the first key there. Getting our deputies more visible, providing a more visible role in the community. Making sure that our deputies are seen, making sure that our our deputies are treating everybody the way that you would want to be treated or the way that you would want your mother treated. That's the biggest key in this role. It's just making sure that we play more visible more transparent role and just be out in the community so that they see that we're there and we're there when they need us."
Chatman: "I got this principle that I call the car principal and I tell the guys, 'you drive it, you drive this car every day, credibility, accountability and responsibility' because that's part of your integrity as an officer. When you couple those things together, and the public knows that one person is not treated any different than the other because of status or anything like that. I know things come on case-by-case basis, but ethics is very important to me, integrity, character that the officers display when they're out there. Don't get me wrong, we're emotional. And there are times then things get heated and just like anyone else reacting, sometimes officers get reacting. People always look for us to be in that control position and we try to do our best to maintain those levels of control is part of our de escalation training and things that we've had."
Federal and State Funding Listening Lab Issue 3
What initiatives do you think are important to spend federal/state funding on?
Allen: "In Wilkinson County our taxes go up every year and our sheriff's office budget goes up yet, I don't believe we're doing anything to try to lower the taxpayer burden. Essentially, I think that state and taxpayer state and federal taxpayer funds should be used for essential items for law enforcement."
Chatman: "I have a number of things that fall into the operations of the sheriffs office and that's basic sheriff's operation, the day-to-day patrol, 911, the jail, which is a big component of that money that we were allocated every year in our budget and courthouse security as well. Also the school resource officers position that we do in our conjunction with our school because our schools pay for our school resource officers salary."
How will you and your department remain transparent about what you are spending money on?
Allen: "I think that goes back to being an open door, having an open door policy. A completely open door policy where if somebody wants to know what we're spending money on, having town hall meetings. Like, 'hey, the sheriff's office is planning on implementing a animal control.' So let's have a town hall on the control to show what the ideas and the everything that the community has to put into it. Number one and then number two, go out and do research to determine what those costs may be, have an additional town hall meeting and say, look, the ideas that y'all brought to us about having an out of control in this county here are, here's the numbers. Is this something that you guys would like to see? Is this something that you would like your taxpayer funds going toward?"
Chatman: "We make sure that the money is spent for the things it's all allocated for. The reason behind even with the 501c3, there will be transparency with it in terms of the monies that we're able to raise through that 501c3 for the sheriff's office. Things such as helping we do Christmas drives, we do Thanksgiving drives, we do things to support different organizations in our school system. And so all of that is done through accounting, making sure that every cents accounted for. And like I said, our administrative officer does a great job and in that the books would be open there. What was spent for what, as well as our board of commissioner's office so anyone can go in and I guess and do an open records requests and say, 'hey, can you tell us how, how this money was spent?'"
Meet the Candidates Background
To Allen: Records show that you've been employed by 15 different police departments and sheriff's offices in the last 15 years. Why is that?
Allen: "I think in today's world we're living in a different time than we were when a lot of people started law enforcement where you started at one agency. Nowadays, deputies and police officers look at a multitude of things. They look at how they're treated, they look at how much they're paid. Like, can I do the same job one county over and make $2 more an hour? Essentially that's one of the things I want to focus on when I become sheriff is the recruitment and retention. Because we do have a high turnover rate and low pay for the area. Because again, you can go over to Laurens County and you can walk in the door at $21 an hour. So essentially, I think that's one of the main goals there. That also provides, I like officers and deputies that go around to and work at different departments because that also spreads the diversity that gets them working in different areas that they don't know people, different areas that people are different, the demographics are different. So I think that is going to benefit this county in order for me to, you know, provide a very diverse leadership."
In what ways will you ensure the people of Wilkinson County can count on you?
Allen: "Well, again, it goes back to open door policy and I prepare to be a working sheriff. You're going to see me in the community at a call for service. If you call in your cats in your tree, you know what, I may show up at that call. I think that's one of the biggest problems is we don't have a visible leadership role in this community."
What have you done to improve Wilkinson County?
Chatman: "I like to look at it from the standpoint since we were at the sheriff's office is what we brought to the table in terms of making our community safer. I've been with the sheriff's office since 1981 and, I've been the sheriff here since 1996 and I think over the years law enforcement has evolved over the years. This is constantly changing. It's constantly evolving, new technologies. The diversity that we deal with the new recruits in terms of your millennials and how you bring them into the fold of law enforcement today. We strive to stay on top of the latest technology, not so much as, uh as a leverage for us in those in other words, helping us to do our job more effectively and, and to better serve the people here in the county."
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