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Sheriff reports 70,879 patrol miles; jail programs highlight garden, trees and rehabilitation efforts
Summary
At the Public Safety Committee meeting, the Bedford County Sheriff reported monthly patrol and arrest statistics, described a favorable audit of dispatch operations, and jail staff outlined a garden, tree and beekeeping program tied to rehabilitation and skill-building.
The Bedford County Sheriff told the Public Safety Committee that deputies logged 70,879 patrol miles in May and that the warrants division served 898 warrants, producing 310 arrests during the reporting period.
"The total miles that the Bedford County Sheriffs patrolled in the month of May was 70,879," said the Bedford County Sheriff. He also reported 481 investigations, 52 traffic accidents, 247 traffic stops and 820 total 911 calls; the May court report recorded 5,001 people entering the judicial complex with deputies providing security for 40 court sessions and 1,409 individual court cases.
The sheriff said auditors praised the dispatch office. "They said it's great that it was, the warrant was clean," he said, adding auditors were "very pleased" with the work that keeps deputies safe.
Jail staff described rehabilitation programs anchored by a garden and related projects. "Garden is fantastic. I think last Thursday or Friday, for today, we took in about 500 pounds of produce," a jail staff member said, describing how the program teaches skills and work ethic. The staff member said the program has expanded to include a tree program ("we've got 5 or 600 trees we're growing out there right now") and beekeeping; participants also plan tours and graduations.
Officials provided jail population and budget-related figures: the daily jail population was 337; 379 people were booked in May; the jail served 32,266 meals with a reported total expenditure of $45,656 (about $1.36 per meal). The sheriff reported roughly $150,000 in revenue from state inmates (he said the figure could be closer to $170,000), $48,000 from cash bonds, and about $20,000 from phone revenues.
County commissioners praised the rehabilitation work. "I wanted to just to give you, a lot of kudos personally," said a county commissioner, praising Lieutenant Luciana Cook and the MRT program for its community impact. The meeting record shows praise and ongoing programming but no formal vote to change jail policy in this session.
