James Kevin Chaney Hello, my name is James Kevin Chaney. I am running for Sheriff of Camden County. I want to ask for your support and vote on May 21. I have been in law enforcement for 28 years. I am a U.S. military veteran from the 82nd Airborne Division. I am a Camden County High School graduate. My life is ingrained in Camden County. I am proud of our community and blessed to be a part of it. My wife, Rebecca, and I have two sons, 19 and 16 years old. My entire adult life has been spent protecting and serving the public. I believe law enforcement is a calling. I have passion and love for my profession. You defi nitely do not do it for the pay. I have worked within every division at the Camden County Sheriff’s Offi ce, to include Jail, Patrol, Drug Task Force, Criminal Investigations and Command Staff. I know the responsibility and requirements of each of these positions. I think it is essential to understand what is required to fi ll these positions. After 28 years, I resigned from the sheriff’s offi ce to run against Sheriff Jim Proctor. I could not stand by the profession I love and watch the events unfolding for the last three years. As a major, I made suggestions and recommendations to address the problems. I fi rmly believe leadership requires you to have the employees’ respect. I have walked in their shoes, and I have stood by them when they are right and held them accountable when they were wrong. I have the operational experience, knowledge and ability to restore trust to the employees and the public. My opponent does not. I ask that you vote for James Kevin Chaney for Sheriff on May 21. What I will not do is ask for “special considerations” for illegal immigrants like my opponent did with the Kingsland Police Department. I will apply the law. In the last several years, the Camden County Sheriff’s Offi ce has faced double-digit lawsuits for infractions within the Camden County jail, for vehicle stops (PIT maneuvers) and more. What is your plan to reduce or limit future litigation against the sheriff’s offi ce? Lawsuits are inevitable in the litigious society we live in today. What is not inevitable are lawsuits where the lack of accountability and responsibility exists. Too many lawsuits have shown a violation of Policy and Procedures in the sheriff’s offi ce. Offi cer training is imperative to ensure offi cers react to situations based on their training. In the jail specifi cally, offi cers are certifi ed by the Georgia Department of Corrections. I will institute an ongoing annual training requirement for offi cers to include de-escalation tactics, crowd shield control, and a program where all Use of Force events are required to be reviewed and used in training on what went right and want went wrong. On Patrol, I will suspend the pursuit policy until all offi cers have completed the required Driver Training Policy. I will work with state and federal training centers to have them on the track for driving skills. I will work with the Camden County Board of Commissioners, Association County Commissioners of Georgia and Georgia Municipal Association Risk Assessment teams and the insurer to illustrate how policy changes have been made to reduce the number of claims and severity of claims. Most of all, all offi cers must accept responsibility for their actions and decisions. The Camden County Jail remains understaffed and in disrepair. What will you do, as sheriff, to ensure the jail operates with full staffi ng and is managed appropriately? The work atmosphere must change at the sheriff’s offi ce to address staffi ng. It must begin with the Sheriff before a solution is possible. The Sheriff must have the trust of not only the public, but just as important, his staff. Many offi cers have left the sheriff’s offi ce due to the current environment. All decisions sit on the shoulders of the sheriff. My experienced leadership will change the atmosphere. I will take responsibility, report the issues publicly and offer the steps we plan to correct the problem. Policies and procedures must be followed by offi cers. I will open public communication with the Board of Commissioners. We must be able to communicate problems and work toward solutions together on behalf of all the taxpayers. The jail structure issue is critical. Sewage backing up in the cell blocks cannot continue. You can’t house humans or animals in sewage. An effort to solve this occurred approximately 10 years ago. Sewer pipes were replaced and repaired. It is happening again now. Most people are aware of the wing that was built and used for storage. This wing cannot house medium and maximum classifi ed inmates (the bulk of inmates). It is a metal building for minimum security inmates. I believe working with the commissioners and an engineer we can produce a plan for a phased approach to build a Public Safety Complex on the current site. The plan would include a 911 and EMA facility, a jail facility and sheriff’s offi ce. The plan would provide answers to phases and costs to move forward. Remaining onsite could reduce overall costs. Housing wings could be constructed on each side of the minimum wing to house the current inmate numbers. As each structure is completed, inmates could be moved in. How will you ensure the sheriff’s department builds and maintains community trust? Transparency is the only way to restore trust to both the staff and public alike. Without transparency you cannot have trust. I plan to implement a public quarterly report to illustrate all activities associated with the offi ce, to include, Use of Force events, Accidents, Arrests, Cases, Calls for service, staffi ng achievements and budget detail. These reports will be used to establish an annual report of the sheriff’s office each year. This report will be made available to the public to allow the citizens to see what we do, how we do it, and most of all, what it costs you, the taxpayer. I will establish a public review board made of community leaders, faith leadership and general public to review the reports and data. I believe open dialogue on operation details will better allow the public to understand how or why decisions are made. Too often, the public is left with unanswered questions, this leads to mistrust. The public must have confidence the Sheriff knows the answers to the problem. My years of operational experience have prepared me to be your Sheriff. I have seen, like most of you, the events at the sheriff’s office over the last three years. It must change, and I will change it with your help. The Sheriff must have your trust to be successful. The Sheriff must hold staff accountable and support staff when they are in the right. This position requires a leader who understands the law, practices the law, and sets policies and procedures because he has the job experience. I have that experience and knowledge to return your faith in the office of the Sheriff.
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