I established a website and Facebook page for our Department to better share what who we are and what we do. Through this, we are able to educate the public on what our role is, times we need their help, and how we spend our time. It has allowed us to begin doing press releases for cases we work on, and t.here has been positive feedback on that. We have also been able to improve our efficiency through the use of online scheduling for appointments.
Having a strong relationship with the other Police Departments in Addison County is an important part of doing our jobs well. By partnering with the Middlebury PD, Bristol PD, Vergennes PD, and VSP, we are all able to be more effective. When I first took over as Sheriff, there was rebuilding that needed to happen between our agencies. Through the help of my Deputies, we have been able to improve our relationships and now work closely with our Law Enforcement partners as we work toward a common goal. Our Department began attending Chief's meetings again and we have joined in the County Highway Safety program through Vergennes PD. I plan to continue to build on these relationships and provide whatever support we can for these agencies.
We have slightly changed our appearance with our uniforms and our cruisers. As we continue to move forward, we have wanted to have a fresh face with what we are doing. Our new cruisers have different decals and lettering, and we will continue to phase out the old look. Our uniform colors have changed slightly, and we are working on creating a new patch as well.
When I took over as Sheriff, one of the things I knew that needed a major overhaul was our policies. These are meant to provide guidelines to Deputies about what my expectations are, and we only had a bare-bones outline to work from. I looked over policies from several other Departments from around the State and worked to develop policies for ACSD that would provide better guidelines for our employees.
In the Spring of 2023, I attended the National Sheriff's Institute at the FBI Academy. This helped provide me with a base to build on, and guide me toward providing better leadership at the Sheriff's Department. In the Fall of 2024, I will be attending a 10- week course called the National Academy hosted by the FBI in Quantico, VA. The focus will be on improving myself as a leader and helping to develop a better Department. Both of these courses were free of charge and have greatly helped me improve how I lead the Sheriff's Department.
When I first took over, the Sheriff's Department was about $40,000 in the red. It has been hard to overcome this obstacle, but with careful planning and restructuring, we been able to make the improvements that we needed to and still maintain a healthy bank account.
While we already had a body camera program at the Sheriff's Department, the cameras were becoming outdated and unreliable. Through a $45,000 grant, I was able to secure new body cameras for our Department to ensure that we could continue to have accountability and review interactions between the public and our Deputies.
Like our body cameras, our portable radios had become outdated and unreliable. Through a grant, I was able to get new portable radios for our Department to use to help maintain officer safety and good communication with our Dispatchers.
In addition to the staff that remained on when I was sworn in, I have been able to hire 5 new deputies since becoming Sheriff. Each Deputy is uniquely gifted, and I appreciate how they treat the people that they interact with. I have also been able to grow our fleet of cruisers, adding 3 brand new cars and 3 used vehicles since I took over. This has been challenging given our financial situation at the beginning, but we have been able to make it work.
A large part of policing today deals with people experiencing a mental health crisis. I am proud of the members of my team that deal with this so well. 2 of my Deputies are mental health instructors at the Vermont Police Academy as well as instructors for the Team 2 training that provides mental health instruction to EMS, Police, and Mental Health workers at the same time. I know the importance of making sure my staff is well trained in this area, and I will continue to support them in this area.
When I first took over, ACSD switched our dispatching from the Rutland CSD to the Middlebury PD. RCSD had provided a good service for us, but because of increased costs and financial strain on our end, we needed to find an alternative. Middlebury PD was able to provide us with the solution, and being able to have an Agency within the County dispatching for us has been very helpful. It has also allowed us to strengthen our relationship with Middlebury PD, and we continue to learn and grow as a Department because of that.
It is an important thing to always continue to learn and grow in this job. I have made sure that I send my Deputies to as much training as our time and budget allows for so that we can better serve our County. I recognize that as we improve ourselves, Addison County will improve too.
I have reestablished contracts with Addison, Ripton, and Leicester, and have signed a new contract with Vergennes PD to provide transports for arrestees. Because of how the Sheriff's Department is structured, these contracts allow us to be able to expand our operations and provide more support for police services within the County.