Newspaper Page Text
Page 2— Wednesday, August 16, 2023, The True Citizen
BCSO trails other agencies in industry recognition
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
The Burke County Sheriff’s
Office trails behind area agen
cies in national accreditation
and state certification.
The True Citizen learned
Monday the BCSO is not a
participant in the national ac
creditation program run by the
Commission on Accreditation
for Law Enforcement Agen
cies (CALEA).
The purpose of CALEA is to
improve the delivery of public
safety services by maintain
ing a body of professional
standards that support the
administration of accredita
tion programs. Agencies must
abide by set standards and
agree to audit and assessments
to assure compliance is met,
according to Regional Pro
gram Manager Vince Dauro.
The CALEA accreditation
programs provide public safety
agencies with an opportunity to
voluntarily meet an established
set of professional standards,
which require comprehensive
directives that clearly define
authority, performance and
responsibilities, reports and
analyses for better decision
making, community relation
ship building and continuous
pursuit of excellence through
annual reviews. CALEA ac
creditation succeeds through
agency leadership, supportive
personnel practices and by
promoting open dialogue and
information sharing.
CALEA has no record the
BCSO has ever been accred
ited. The Richmond County
Sheriff’s Office has been ac
credited through CALEA since
2015 and the Columbia County
Sheriff’s Office has been ac
credited since 2004, Dauro
said.
The True Citizen learned
Tuesday, July 8, the BCSO is
also not state certified through
the Georgia Association of
Chiefs of Police (GACP).
“They were certified in 2021
and voluntarily withdrew in
March of 2022,” said Coor
dinator Charles Groover. “I
do not know the reason the
sheriff withdrew, but I encour
aged him to get back in the
process and (emphasized) how
important the program is to his
department and the citizens
they serve.”
Certification status repre
sents a significant professional
achievement for law enforce
ment agencies. It acknowledg
es the implementation of poli
cies and procedures conceptu
ally sound and operationally
effective. Certification is about
best practices, according to the
GACP website. Additionally,
certification is the vehicle for
modern, progressive law en
forcement CEOs to move their
agency forward into the 21st
century. It is about leadership
and doing the right things for
the right reasons.
The website lists the cor
nerstones of certification as
professionalism, operational
guidance, positive community
support, transparency, ethical
conduct and liability protec
tion. There are eight steps
in the certification process,
including maintaining compli
ance.
The Richmond County Sher
iff’s Department and Marshal’s
Office, the Grovetown Depart
ment of Public Safety, the
Statesboro Police Department
and the Waynesboro Police
Department are all state certi
fied through GACP. The BCSO
is currently working toward
achieving the certification
again, according to Groover.
The City of Waynesboro vot
ed in 2021 to hire former Burke
County Sheriff’s Office Chief
Deputy Lewis Blanchard to
assist the police department in
earning the state accreditation
lost by the agency two years
prior. At the time, Blanchard
explained that accreditation is
a means by which an agency
improves its overall perfor
mances, including everything
from officer training to record
keeping.
In a June 2020 letter in The
True Citizen, Sheriff Alfonzo
Williams wrote, “We recently
attained our state certification
status, which means we are fol
lowing 129 standards set by the
Georgia Association of Chiefs
of Police (so if we follow these
latest and best practices, we are
likely doing things right and
less likely to be sued civilly or
become subject to legal dilem
mas).”
Sheriff makes “fuzzy”
budgeting accusation
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
In an August 6 letter to the
Board of Commissioners,
Sheriff Alfonzo Williams stat
ed he provided the commission
“sufficient proof’ that court
services personnel, formerly
paid for through the Superior
Court Clerk’s budget, were
“ported” over to his budget,
giving the appearance he was
receiving increased funding as
requested.
“In actuality, it was fuzzy
math,” he wrote. “We were un
funded by $200,000 for basic
salaries for these court person
nel. We did not overspend to
create this scenario.”
However, records indicate
that the court services portion
of the Sheriff’s Office’s budget
is trending to go over bud
get $31,573 for 2023, mainly
due to overtime. Additionally,
nearly half of the overtime pay,
$14,207, is attributed to the
Sheriff’s own sister.
The Sheriff’s exuberance
for promoting is also a source
of contention with the county.
Williams moved one employee
up six extra steps in August
2021, further causing funding
issues as this was neither uni
form for other employees nor
funding. If every department
gave extra raises to employ
ees, every county department
would be over their budget,
according to Financial Direc
tor Michael Wiseman. Also,
the county's pay system is set
up for equal pay amongst em
ployees. Wiseman elaborated
on how moving an employee
up six steps in one year affects
the overall department budget.
“Each year we fund one raise
for each employee,” he said.
“The Sheriff gave one em
ployee six extra raises in 2021.
Each year after, that problem
still exists and is compounded.
The budget does not provide
for that since it is designed for
fair and equal treatment ac
cording to the Equal Employ
ment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC). This is uniform across
all departments.”
What remains “fuzzy” is
why Sheriff Williams claims
that court personnel moved,
under the BCSO, decreased his
budget by $200,000.
SEE
ACCUSATION,
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