A NEW SHERRIFF IN TOWN

The change that Coffee County needed A new sheriff Scott Byrd was elected by the people. As we all know the duties of sheriffs vary tremendously by state, they’re responsible for highway patrols, and in many, they handle general policing and corrections. The job can be incredibly complex, involving the oversight of law enforcement across multiple jurisdictions; managing jails, which often makes them the largest provider of mental health services in the county; performing evictions; sometimes running the coroner’s office; and, if they’re near water or mountains, running search and rescue functions. (Sheriffs’ duties may vary, but the demographics of the officeholders are strikingly consistent.

Scott Byrd has his work cut out for him after speaking with Scott I truly believe he is honest, unlike other sheriff departments that used the badge, power and the prison system for profit. The state of Alabama sends counties a paltry $1.75 per day or more to feed each inmate locked up in jail, but sheriffs often manage to spend a good deal less than that. They have a strong incentive to do so. The sheriffs get to keep whatever they don’t spend, which in some cases has reached well into the six figures.

Morgan County sheriff, who bought a truckload of corn dogs at a discount, served them up twice daily, and pocketed $212,000 from the food fund over a period of three years. The next sheriff, Ana Franklin, took $160,000 out of the food budget and invested most of it in a used car lot.

As is typical when such legislation is pending, sheriffs and prosecutors are pushing hard against it. Sheriffs routinely deny that they engage in “policing for profit,” but Coffee County Sheriff Dave Sutton stated differently in a February column in the Birmingham News co-authored with Calhoun County District Attorney Brian McVeigh. “Sending the proceeds of forfeiture to the state’s general fund would result in fewer busts of drug and stolen property rings,” they wrote. “What incentive would local police and sheriffs have to invest manpower, resources, and time in these operations if they don’t receive proceeds to cover their costs?” It might be argued that the oath of office should be enough of an incentive, but not all sheriffs see it that way.

We are glad to actually have a new sheriff who cares about the people in the coffee county. Scott Byrd believes in the oath he took, and his oath really makes all the difference in the world.

The Alabama Legislature passed a bill allowing voters in Morgan County, Ana Franklin’s territory, to give their sheriff a 35 percent raise. In exchange, the sheriff would be blocked from pocketing money from the food accounts.

After being arrested in 2011, Lockhart and her husband sued Franklin for false arrest, ultimately reaching a settlement. Lockhart has remained a major thorn in Franklin’s side, running a blog that became a depository for information provided by anonymous deputies and other sources. “At least in our county, the next sheriff who decides to put their hand in the cookie jar will not be able to do so, at least not out of the inmate food fund,” Lockhart says. “It’s just totally wrong for them to be able to do it.”