Sheriff's Dispatch, Jan. 5, 2020

Hello Benton County, I promised to keep you updated about the current critical shortage of county law enforcement and that is what I intend to do, but first I find it necessary to clarify a few things that were published in the commissioners reply last week. For those of you that have not read it, it was published in the December 26th edition of the Benton County Enterprise and I have shared a copy on the Benton County MO Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

I need to start by saying, folks, we do not have a commissioner problem, we have a funding problem. The commissioners have a tough, thankless job trying to stretch your tax dollar. Every dollar spent is public record and available to you if requested. Your Sheriff's Office is no different. The Sheriff's Office belongs to you, so any information you want or any questions you would like answered, my door is open.

Our problem is General Revenue! This is the funding that pays all the salaries and wages of all the county's employees, light bills, office supplies, fuel and gas, ext. Did you know that 97% of the money you pay to the County Collector at the end of the year does not stay in the county check book? Less than 3% is retained to help pay the previously mentioned bills. The rest goes to our schools, library, state and so on. Don't believe me? Get out your tax receipts and look at the abbreviation "COUN". Out of all the money you paid to the collector, that tiny amount under COUN stays with our county government to help pay the counties bills. The rest is dispersed to the other entities by the County Treasurer. That's crazy you say? I know a lot of people that would agree with you. The county has not had a rate increase in 18 years! If you see a slight increase in you tax bill, it's because your home and/or property's value has increased.

As you know, I have spoken to the commissioners about the shortfalls in our tax revenue. They are looking to the future and looking for ways to grow our economy. We need industry, business and growth if we want to survive and prosper. The issues I have shared with you are not just a Sheriff's Office problem or a Commissioner problem, it is a county wide problem that effects every citizen, young and old. With that understanding, I want to make sure to clarify the information presented last week so there is no confusion about the financial state of the Sheriff's Office or where your tax dollars and generous donations have gone.

According to the Commissioners report, after I assumed office in January of 2017 the budget for the Sheriff's Office has grown by 23% or approximately $338,000.  Over the past two years, the Sheriff's Office has made the following upgrades:

Eight (8) new patrol vehicles were purchased including $12,000 per unit to install upgrades per his specifications:
The patrol vehicles were traded out around 100,000 miles (we averaged over 38,000 miles driven per month in 2019, The Missouri State Highway Patrol trades their patrol vehicles at 50,000 miles.)  Our vehicles are kept in excellent condition. Unfortunately, the emergency lighting and electronic packages were substandard and no cages were added in the cars to protect the deputies from combative suspects. The deputies were constructing their own protective enclosures using cattle panels and any other like materials. Some were quite genius, but still not up to the standards required. There were no Tasers, only a few outdated and unsafe tire deflation devises (Stop Sticks) and not every vehicle had a fire extinguisher.

Slowly, under my management and leadership, we are improving our fleet with quality upgraded equipment, including cages. I have asked for Stop Sticks every year but had to choose the equipment in order of importance with the reflection on officer safety and public safety in mind due to budgetary constraints. With the help of the Friends of the Benton County Sheriff's Office, a nonprofit established to help support the many needs of the Sheriff's Office, we were able to purchase new Stop Sticks for every vehicle this year. (The non-profit paid half and the County paid half.)

Fifteen (15) new auto and semi-automatic weapons, fifteen (15) new shotguns and twenty-one (21) new Glock handguns:
When I took office we owned no AR-15 rifles and a few mix matched shotguns. The deputies had some of their personally owned weapons which was dangerous and a huge liability to the county, but allowed because it was better than having no weapons. There were some Korean War era weapons on loan from the Federal Government which are not practical for our purposes.  When I was told we were not able to purchase all of this equipment needed to outfit my staff, I discovered a way to let the convicted felons of Benton County provided all of the new shotguns and all but two of the quality, fully equipped AR-15s. The two we were short were purchased using a discretionary fund available to me funded by non-tax dollars. Missouri Revised Statute 571.095 allows law enforcement agencies to sale or trade weapons confiscated from convicted felons and suspects convicted of felonies. No tax dollars were expended to purchase our new rifles and shotguns. Our handguns needed to be serviced due to their age, approaching 10 years old. Our Lieutenant discovered that we could trade in our old weapons for new ones, costing the taxpayer $150 difference per weapon which was about the same price to service the old ones.

The Sheriff's Office has upgraded to a new version of bullet proof vests:When I took over as Sheriff in January of 2017, I was shocked to find the deputies wearing bullet resistant vests that in some cases, were years past their expiration date. I requested all new vests for my first budget but was told the budget would not support that request and was offered a compromise for a few. I could not let that stand so I asked you, the compassionate, caring citizens of Benton County for your help. With your compassion and generosity as well as the many fund raisers held by the Friends of the Benton County Sheriff's Office and other wonderful organizations, we were able to purchase all new vests for every deputy.

All of the patrol vehicles have been upgraded with new GPS mapping equipment including unit tracking capability.  This allows all vehicles to be identified at a specific location so a Deputy can summon and receive assistance, if necessary.

In distant parts of our county deputies would have no reliable way to communicate. Too far out for the current radio or phone signal this situation put not only our deputies in danger but also those they were there to serve. GPS mapping in tracking in our area is an essential tool for safety and speed getting fire, ambulance or back up to the area.

My final clarification is about the shortage of deputies. The commissioners report stated that we have 18 available deputy positions...and that we have never been fully staffed. Both of those statements are true, but not all of those deputy positions are on the road. Two deputies are assigned full time to provide security in the courtroom, two deputies are administrative with one of those pulling double duty as a road deputy while we are so short. One is a full time transport deputy. One is a full time paper server (He can't keep up with the volume) and one splits his time between court, transport and paper service because all of those positions need more help, plus takes calls in between. That leaves 11 road positions to service a population of approximately 19,000 citizens. This number explodes in the summer months! We have upwards of a 1,000 miles of road and over 740 square miles of County divided by the lake. Being short 5 positions only leaves 6 (six) positions to serve you, 24 hours 7 days per week.

Since our last deputy departed on 12/05/2019 we are five (5) positions short. We do have 2 in training but our quality, professional training program takes up to four months to complete. During this time, one of our three training officers are paired up with the new hire to ensure our high standards are being met. We are paying two deputies for one job and still have vacant positions. There is no guarantee the new hire will successfully complete the training and therefore we must start over. Sometimes they find out being a deputy is not for them and resign. It is a huge strain on our precious tax dollars and a massive burden on the remaining deputies when we cannot retain staff.

Because we are not able to staff our Office properly or retain current staff, calls will go unanswered and follow ups on the cases left behind by those who move on will hang in limbo. Because of our high call volume (20,605 calls to service as of 12/20/19) and the dozens of cases each deputy carries, they are physically unable to absorb the cases left behind by the vacancy.

Many of you have expressed support and understanding for the current situation and I want you to know how much that is appreciated. The elected officials of your county, myself included, should and will be working together to serve you in the best way that we can. Several of you have asked how you can help. I have said it before, and I will say it again.... I need all of you to be as frustrated as your law enforcement, I urge you to step up and get involved! I need you to be worried about where our justice system is now and where its headed. Please contact your State and Federal representatives for your district and hold them accountable. Your elected officials should be working for you and reflect your wishes! Warren Love State Representative (573)751-4065 warren.love@house.mo.gov; Roger Reedy State Representative (573)751-3971 rodger.reedy@house.mo.gov; US House of Representative Vicky Hartzler (202)224-3121; US Senator Roy Blunt (573)442-8151 (you may also google your representative's name for additional means of contact.) Locally if you would like to help support your Sheriff's Office you can contact the Friends of the Benton County Sheriff's Office on Facebook or call (660) 723-4498.

I love this county and its people. I grew up here, I raised my children here. I want to see our county grow and prosper. I will do everything I can, as long as I can, to help achieve this. I will continue to try and improve the quality of your Sheriff's Office to better serve you.

Sheriff Knox