It is the over-riding mission of the Sheriff's office to enforce the law and make Jackson a safe place to live and visit. To accomplish that mission, my staff and I will recruit, train and equip a professional compliment of Deputies, Corrections Officers and Communications Technicians. These employees will deliver top quality road patrol, correctional and 911 dispatch services to residents and visitors of this county. Together we will perform this mission with integrity, efficiency and attention to detail. That is my pledge to you, to the taxpayers of this county and to my personnel.
During the year ahead, we will have several challenging projects. First, we will be constructing a new eight million dollar, 240 bed, correctional facility for sentenced offenders in Blackman Township. This facility will open in the fall of 2003. Second, we will be renovating and adding-on to our existing jail to provide additional bed space for pretrial and female offenders. The jail renovation and addition will cost four million dollars. Both jail projects are funded by a jail tax assessment passed by the voters in August of 2002. Finally, we will be making improvements to the police/ fire communications and computer network. These technology upgrades will keep our 911 response system current and efficient for years to come.