Public safety groups talk future as community grows

By TAYLOR BECK

tbeck@covnews.com

As Newton County grows, so too does the weight of local public safety officials’ duty to protect and serve the community.

Growth is nothing new to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office.

From 2004 to 2020, Newton County’s population has dramatically increased from approximately 72,000 residents to more than 112,000 residents — an addition of nearly 40,000 people.

But in the same period of time, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office has adapted to ensure all residents are able to be protected and served.

Only 143 people were employed by the Sheriff’s Office in 2004. Today, the law enforcement agency has exceeded 300 employees.

In addition, a 10,000-squarefoot expansion project was recently completed at the sheriff’s office headquarters just off Alcovy Road.

The Sheriff’s Office also has two precincts — one on the west side and another on the south side that will open in the near future, Brown said.

Brown said the agency has partnered with the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center, located at 720 FFA FHA Camp Rd. in Covington, to open a precinct there, which “will increase law enforcement presence” in the southern portion of the county. However, the south precinct would not be open to the public. He said the precinct would only serve as a safe location for deputies to write reports, follow-up with other deputies on calls for service and meet with investigators to discuss active cases.

As the county continues to grow, Brown said his office would face any challenges that may arise like any others — head on.

“Law enforcement across the nation is changing rapidly, every day, and my deputies are faced with daily challenges,” Brown said. “We always and will contin-

Here We Grow

Our Vision: Newton County is a Thriving Community United Through Strong Relationships and Partnerships.

ue to be prepared for the future of not only law enforcement but this community. As the environment changes, my leadership team and I continue to look for new tools and policing strategies that will help my deputies adapt to the growth.”

In Covington, Police Chief Stacey Cotton said the city’s police department is “in excellent shape” for the future, considering the circumstances of COVID-19, as well as a period of national civil unrest slighted toward law enforcement.

While many law enforcement agencies around the country seemed to lose support, Cotton said the community and its leaders stood firm in “backing the blue.” He said the city of Covington has opted to budget more funds to better serve officers and, in turn, better serve the community.

As the population continues to grow and more rooftops are being constructed throughout the city, Cotton said the police department was doing its best to be prepared but, by nature, would ultimately be working from behind.

“You have to recognize that law enforcement is always going to be in a lag,” Cotton said. “In other words, you can put infrastructure in the ground … then wait for a development to come, and then you wait for people to start building. For us [as a police department], as soon as you start doing anything to a piece of land, it immediately becomes a point of attraction for possible activity.

“As you build and develop the property out, you’re going to have more and more activity,” he continued. “Not just criminal activity, but activity as a whole

A Newton County Sheriff’s deputy directs traffic.

Special | NCSO

The Mayor and Town Council would like to welcome you to Newborn

Mayor: W. Gregg Ellwanger Council Members: Rob Bratton, Tom Krieger, Cain Williamson & Martha Ellwanger Come and Visit: Newborn Town Park right next to Town Hall Historic Newborn Schoolhouse & Community Center Jeanette Adams Zeigler Library Yearly Events: Arbor Day, Horneyhead Fishing Tournament, Fall Festival

http://www.newbornga.com

that requires us to patrol and be present … Once people start moving in and living there, then they’ll start calling for service. So, what we do, we base our manpower, our staffing and our deployment on calls for service, and so that’s always going to behind.

“But I think we’re well poised,” Cotton added. “I think that my communication with elected officials is to recognize and understand that we’re getting ready to substantially increase our manpower as our nighttime population and calls for service increase over the next few years.”

An expected need for more manpower would likely not call for an additional precinct, Cotton said, unless it made sense geographically and financially.

“There are some conversations about adding precincts, and I’m open-minded to listen to anybody,” Cotton said. “But we have to understand … when people say we need to open a precinct in the neighborhood, my first question is always, ‘What is your expectation?’”

Cotton said the reason why precincts are open in most jurisdictions, such as Atlanta, is because of the size.

“It’s big enough that it makes no sense for an officer to drive to a central location to work everyday, when they could build a precinct out in the community neighborhood that those officers could report to,” he said. “So geographically, if it makes more sense for our officers to respond to another location than [the headquarters located on Harland Drive], we would certainly look into that. But the city is only 14 square miles, and we just don’t see a need for that.”

The argument, however, is a precinct in certain locations could deter crime, Cotton said.

“I think oftentimes we hear precinct as a quick fix, but that’s not necessarily so,” he said. “And it may, but I always ask people, ‘What are their expectations?’ ... If your expectation is to see officers out on the street, then we don’t necessarily need a precinct. But if your expectation is that you want to see police officers in a building, then we can talk about that.”

Another reason the subject of precincts had been discussed was a recent spike in drive-by shootings — something Covington had not been used to. To combat the issue, the department is conducting additional patrols and working to be more visible in the area. Cotton said officers were also making an effort to reach out and talk to community members.

Another way to help the issue is to put the instigators behind bars and keep them there by way of thorough investigations and working with local judges.

“Sometimes people get low bonds and get released with a long violent criminal history and shouldn’t even be on the street,” Cotton said. “That’s not happening here. Our judges do a great job of making sure that if a person needs to have a high bond or no bond, they do their due diligence.”

Cotton said he, the sheriff, judges and the district attorney had met to discuss how to make sure this continues happening.

“One example is that we make sure the detectives from the Covington Police Department testify on the warrant hearings or the bond hearings so the district attorney’s office and judges will get a clearer picture of the situation,” he said. “Because again, we don’t want something to slip through the crack.”

Unfortunately, Cotton said a large number of people that were committing crimes locally are coming out of Atlanta and DeKalb County.

“I believe we’re doing everything we can at the local level, but we have to realize that a lot of the problems that we’re having are people that ... have no commitment to Covington — just living a lawless lifestyle. And we may be the victims of violence from some of these people who’ve been given low bonds or no bonds in another jurisdiction.”

The Covington Fire Department will stick to its strategic plan developed a couple years ago to ensure it continues operating at the highest level as the city continues to grow.

In fall 2020, the fire department crafted a five-year strategic plan with the input of more than 30 community members “from all walks of life.” Through the community’s response, the fire department determined its strategic initiatives would be community outreach, training, human resources, internal communications, physical resources and accreditation.

Today, Chief Jeremy Holmes Holmes said the department was working to continue reaching those goals and being one of the best fire departments in the state. Covington Fire Department is currently one of only six accredited agencies in the state of Georgia by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.

However, as the city of Covington continues to grow, obstacles — like the need for a third station — still remain.

Holmes identified the need for a station in the southern portion of the city in a 2020 presentation. A new station would likely cost millions of dollars.

Aside from another station, Holmes said the department needs additional personnel. While fully staffed currently, the ability to have more firefighters on staff would allow the department to serve the community even better.

While there are personnel needs, virtually all equipment needs have been addressed by the city council, Holmes said.