The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office is implementing a new initiative in Macon-Bibb County based on what we see, hear, and experience first-hand in ALL areas of Macon-Bibb County. We’ve walked the neighborhoods for safety, we’ve answered calls, we’ve been in the schools, we’ve visited with church groups and we’ve been involved with community groups.
We’ve seen the hopelessness of forgotten communities, we’ve heard the despair from the good people who want to make a difference, we’ve partnered as much as we can as a Sheriff’s Office.
We have always done more than just Law Enforcement in Bibb County – we devote inmate labor to help the blighted areas, we partner with church and community leaders to try and make a difference on each street, we arrest criminals, we hold hands of victims, we keep up with street gang members and we investigate and solve crimes.
But we need more. We need to have PRIDE in the community.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office PRIDE initiative is made up of FIVE distinct efforts:
- PRESENCE
- REACTION
- INTERACTION
- DETERRENCE
- EXCELLENCE
Here are some examples of how we will bring PRIDE to our neighborhoods.
PRESENCE: Deputies will be sent to various locations throughout our community so the sheriff’s office presence is felt by all in the targeted community. To this end, the Sheriff’s Special Response Team (SRT) will work as a cohesive unit and will cater to the needs of that location. If speeding is a problem, they will set up at strategic locations to deter speeding. If burglaries are a problem, they will work with the Property Investigators to coordinate a neighborhood response. They might also go door-to-door in affected neighborhoods and make contact with homeowners to assure them there are deputies in the vicinity and offer tips about how to secure their homes.
REACTION: SRT and other divisions may be called to react to locations to assist patrol or Investigators. They may be needed to conduct enforcement actions in a reported drug trafficking area. They may be needed to react to an outbreak of entering autos.
INTERACTION: Our deputies will always be interacting with the citizens in their assigned detail location in positive ways. This is not a lock ‘em squad – their main job is to make sure the citizens’ concerns are being met. This means a lot of talking to people of all walks of life. If arrests are needed, arrests should be made. If citations are needed, citations should be given. But if information gathering is needed by forging community bonds, then that is the approach that will be taken.
DETERRENCE: It is hoped an increased presence will lead to deterrence of certain opportunistic crimes such as property crimes.
EXCELLENCE: We strive for excellence within the Sheriff’s Office and are hoping our efforts will have an impact upon the community and help them also to strive for excellence in their neighborhoods. If there is any way we can help a neighborhood strive for excellence and bring pride to their communities, we are a phone call away.
Everyone can do something to show pride on their streets. The concept of Presence, Reaction, Interaction, Deterrence, and Excellence can be used to address many problems facing our citizens.
We hope this initiative will start a conversation in our community about what we all can do to bring PRIDE to all of our neighborhoods.
This concept will be implemented throughout the sheriff’s office-from Corrections to Patrol to the Gang unit and especially to our Outreach efforts.