Residents got a chance Thursday to meet local law enforcement face to face, and perhaps enjoy a bite to eat as well in South Hall County.
Dave Crumbley, a member of the neighborhood watch group at Reunion Country Club in the Hoschton area, was among the attendees at the community cookout at the Hall County Sheriff's Office South Precinct, and said events like the cookout are an excellent resource for residents to connect with local law enforcement officers.
Crumbley said his neighborhood watch group knows many of the local deputies fairly well already.
"What we try to do is we have representatives of the community and sheriff's department come out to our monthly meetings, and we can have Q and A with the residents," said Crumbley.
The community cookout served as another opportunity for residents to have those one-on-one meetings with deputies.
Lt. Chris Dale said it's vitally important that deputies create a sense of community, and show the public that deputies are people too.
"We're here to help. We don't want to have an 'us versus them' mentality, or 'blue versus everybody else.' We're all people. We all serve and live in this community, and we want to be open and available to anybody that has any problems," said Dale.
Crumbley said the contact with law enforcement has been valuable to the Reunion subdivision's community watch program, since deputies often keep residents up to date on the latest techniques and technology they use to spot or stop crime.
"I would say in South Hall, it's a very close-knit connection of communities, community representatives and law enforcement," said Crumbley.
Dale said anyone who missed the cookout is always welcome to stop by any of the Hall County Sheriff's Office precincts if they ever have any concerns.
