Sheriff’s Office, Stecoah discuss safety in community
Stecoah – A meeting took place on Feb. 27 at the Stecoah Fire and Rescue building, between members of the Stecoah community and the Graham County Sheriff’s Office.
The meeting was held to provide members of the community the opportunity to learn more about efforts being made by the Sheriff’s Office, to both provide Graham County with a safer place to live and for citizens to voice opinions and concerns.
Sheriff Joseph Jones began the meeting with call statistics for the Stecoah township. In 2019, total calls in Graham County reached up to 7,828, 569 of which came from Stecoah. Most of the calls placed were due to suspicious persons – with 32 calls – and suspicious vehicles, reaching 53 calls.
Also discussed were future developments for Graham County as a whole. There are new plans for a new courthouse, jail and Sheriff’s Office being funded and built within five years. The current jail is designed for up to eight inmates, but is currently being used to hold 19. Inmates have been diffused between other county jails, to allow for more space.
A $120,000 grant has been approved for a new traffic officer. With the new position, a new squad car and radar will be purchased. This new officer will patrol Graham County to protect citizens from unsafe driving.
Additionally, an advocate program has been established to aid crime victims. Advocates will attend court in the victim’s place when possible to prevent the victim from missing work or school.
Future meetings are planned to take place and the Sheriff’s Office invites any citizen to attend.