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Coffee County sheriff reports lower jail population, outlines motorcycle patrols and senior outreach
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Summary
Sheriff Parton told the Law Enforcement Committee the jail population and classification data show a high percentage of unsentenced inmates, described moving away from vehicle leasing toward purchases, and outlined plans for motorcycle patrols and a low-cost senior outreach check-in program.
Sheriff Parton told the Coffee County Law Enforcement Committee April 22 that current jail reports show the facility's daily count and a separate classification sheet that places many inmates in non-sentenced status. He said the classification report lists a separate tally (reported on the agenda) and that about 70.67% of inmates were non-sentenced at the time of the report.
"When you hear the rhetoric about overcrowding'that's because there's some people having to... 'bridal up' ' but we're in good shape today," Sheriff Parton said, noting the jail has workable classification assignments across pods. He also provided detail on the classification sheet showing mixed misdemeanor and felony charges and said 166 non-sentenced felonies were included in the count.
On vehicles and budgeting, Parton said the office does not expect a large procurement of new patrol cars this year and that the county's lease program has likely reached its useful life given higher interest rates; his recommendation is to purchase vehicles outright when necessary. He described routine maintenance and contract costs that continue to pressure the budget but said staff have recovered some state funds through programs that helped the bottom line.
The sheriff described operational repairs at the jail, including storm-damaged sliding gates and burned motors; he said staff will try piecemeal repairs and reallocate a motor from a less-used gate to the main entrance if needed.
Parton also outlined operational plans to deploy motorcycles for traffic enforcement, neighborhood speed complaints and funeral escorts. "The motorcycles are really, excited for them to be used... to help with funeral escorts," he said, adding that motorcycles can improve turnaround time and visibility for traffic control.
He proposed a low-cost senior outreach program adapted from a model he saw in East Tennessee: retired officers and staff would call enrolled seniors daily to check on well-being, provide fraud-prevention contacts and conduct welfare checks when necessary. "What's 20 minutes of a day to make a phone call?" he asked, arguing the program could prevent harm from falls and scams among isolated residents.
Committee members asked follow-up questions on motorcycles and scam reports; members recounted frequent spoofed calls and text-message scams targeting seniors. Parton encouraged residents not to respond to suspicious calls and noted some successful recoveries of state funds that helped the sheriff's budget.
The sheriff closed by publicly thanking Jennifer Green, identified in the meeting as his administrative assistant and CFO, for fiscal work that improved the office's finances.
Next steps: the sheriff will continue to manage maintenance and budget lines and to pursue grant or other opportunities (e.g., highway-safety grants) to fund equipment and enforcement tools.
