Cronic: Reserve deputies help save money

GAINESVILLE - The Hall County Sheriff's Office Reserve Unit is saving taxpayers thousands of dollars, according to the sheriff's office.

The Reserve Unit is commanded by Capt. Harry Chapman, a retired Gainesville police officer.

Sheriff Steve Cronic says the unit was created to provide support to the department during times of needed assistance. It is made up of retired and former certified law enforcement officers who volunteer their time to the sheriff's department and the community, according to Cronic.

The unit has been called upon to search for missing children as well as Alzheimer's patients, Cronic says, and also fulfills marine duties, patrolling the lake during the summer on Jet Ski's provided by Yamaha through Park Marine at no cost to the county; provides security and traffic control for such events as Murrayville Days Parade, Rabbit Town Parade, and the Lula Railroad Days Parade and Festival.

Cronic says the reserve deputies have stepped in and volunteered their time to provide the needed assistance for most all the traffic control positions, eliminating the need to assign paid deputies to work these events.

The sheriff says that in the current difficult economic times this has been a tremendous benefit to his office and has allowed "(us) to keep the regular paid deputies on the street to answer calls for service and has reduced overtime usage."

"There were a total of 21 reserve deputies who volunteered their time to assist the Sheriff's Office in staffing the post required to handle the last three parades," Cronic said. "The reserve unit saved the Sheriff's Office an estimated $4,000 in just the last few months."