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Sheriff and coroner report uptick in cases and calls as summer begins
Summary
At the June 6 meeting the sheriff reported rising call volumes and routine activity; the coroner reported year‑to‑date caseload increases and staffing needs.
The Richland County sheriff’s office and coroner presented routine monthly reports to the Public Safety Standing Committee on June 6, noting an uptick in calls for service as warmer weather begins and a year‑to‑date increase in coroner cases.
The sheriff reported that for May the office posted $58,879.85 in vouchers, processed 52 inmate bookings for the month and recorded an average jail population of 30.51. The sheriff said dispatch handled 711 calls for service in May, including about 146 EMS calls, 138 police calls and 23 fire calls. Traffic enforcement included 66 citations and three warnings; the electronic monitoring program averaged eight participants.
“It's just the season seems to bring an uptick in activity,” the sheriff said when asked why calls were higher, adding that nicer weather tends to increase travel and related incidents. Committee members asked whether the 711 figure included EMS and fire; the sheriff responded that the number is inclusive of calls that generated a response.
Coroner’s staff (Coroner Jim) reviewed April and May casework. For April the coroner reported 11 cases (ages about 40 to 98): one Alzheimer’s‑related, one RSV, one elderly natural cause, four cancer‑related deaths, one pending toxicology and three hospice cases; one autopsy for unusual circumstances (possible overdose). For May the coroner reported 10 cases (ages about 10 to 98): two cancer‑related, two heart, two stroke, one pending toxicology, one trauma case (UTV accident) and two autopsies (including the UTV accident and a possible drug case). Eight of the May cases were cremations and one was a traditional burial.
The coroner said the office has handled 62 cases year‑to‑date, compared with 51 cases at the same point last year, and noted staff are preparing a deputy‑coroner job description to help fill workload needs.
No formal committee action was taken; the reports were received and committee members thanked staff for the updates.
