It’s time for Strong Leadership in Gaston County

The Gaston County Sheriff’s Office is spending too much time in politics and not enough time tackling the real issues facing our community such as the growing number of gangs, juvenile delinquency, and drugs.  Below are ten steps I will take to improve inter-law enforcement relations, lower crime, better protect our citizens, and cut out wasteful spending for the citizens of Gaston County.

Step One:  The top priority of my tenure as Sheriff will be to invest in our youth. Right now, too many juveniles find their way into the jails, detention facilities and prisons.  When I am Sheriff, I will enact a Youth Education Program which will assist the youth in understanding jail is not the place to end up and show them different paths to embark on.  This is not an expense.  This is an investment in the future of our County and youth.

Step Two:  Repeat offenders is a huge expense in Gaston County and it has not been given the proper attention it needs.  Tax dollars are poured into repeat offenders coming back to jail and it is time we got real leadership in the Sheriff’s office to reduce these occurrences and start saving the Citizens of Gaston County money.

Step Three:  Establish a Restorative Justice Program for all offenders to repay their debt to society and garnish support from all sectors of the justice system. 

Step Four:  Inmates in our jails are serving a debt to society for their actions – on your dime!  Therefore, when I am Sheriff, an Inmate Workers’ Program will be established for them to better serve the people of Gaston County and truly pay off their debt to society.

Step Five:  The court house and jail security is an important issue needing to be addressed and improved.  One of many ways to greatly advance security is by expanding the K-9 team to weed out drugs and dangerous objects being smuggled to inmates.

Step Six:  The jail processing operation needs a complete overhaul.  The processing of inmates currently in place is taking too long.  When elected, I will revamp these operations to save time, money, and get officers back on the streets to serve and protect our citizens.

Step Seven:  As your Sheriff, I will put an immediate and swift end to favoritism within the department and start treating employees as professionals.  Our officers are on the front lines of crime everyday and they deserve a fair, impartial hiring process along with a promotion process that is impartial and based on merit, longevity and with an outside vendor testing.

Step Eight:  There is too much wasteful spending in our Sheriff’s department.  On my watch, the department will perform a complete overhaul of expenses and seek out opportunities to save the tax payers’ money while not compromising the public’s safety.

Step Nine:  As your Sheriff, I will improve the relationship between law enforcement agencies across the board:  local, state, and federal.  Right now, tax payer’s dollars are being wasted on repetitive and inefficient programs and policies.

Step Ten:  Gaston County needs and deserves a Sheriff that is hands on, visible and approachable by the public.  As your Sheriff, I will be available to you the citizens.