Even before today’s report revealed a confirmed case of COVID-19 in Banks County, Sheriff Carlton Speed and his administration had been planning for the possibility and adopting procedural changes.
“As an agency, we made numerous procedural changes last week to adapt and hopefully, prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our jurisdiction and among our personnel,” said Sheriff's Capt. Carissa McFaddin.
Those changes ensure that the agency will continue to function should members of the staff be exposed or fall ill with the coronavirus.
“We have worked within the agency to develop a continuity plan in order to supplement services as needed,” McFaddin said. “Basically, should our front-line responders – our patrol deputies and detention officers – develop COVID-19 symptoms and/or test positive for the virus, we have personnel from our command staff, investigators, and school resource officers who will pick-up their load and serve in their position.”
The agency is following social distancing and has equipped all personnel with appropriate personal protective equipment.
“We have changed the way we answer calls for service, intake offenders, and interact with one another and the public,” McFaddin said.
That means non-emergency calls received are being handled by telephone.
“If a criminal activity in-progress call or emergency call is received, deputies are responding as normal,” McFaddin said.
Arrest transport procedures also have changed to prevent potential contamination of frontline patrol vehicle.
“When someone is arrested, we have assigned personnel to transport the offender by way of our inmate transport van to our detention center,” McFaddin said. “Once at the facility, our detention center staff are initially checking the offender’s temperature before entry into our facility. We do not have the ability to create six feet distance between all inmates, so we are practicing social distancing by only letting indispensable people inside. In addition, sheriff’s office staff are routinely disinfecting well-trodden areas within the entire law enforcement center.”
As at most other jails, visitation of inmates at the detention center has been temporarily suspended.
“However, in order to supplement the termination of visitation, inmates have been granted additional free use of telephones at the facility to contact relatives and loved ones along with three free emails each week,” McFaddin said. “Inmates in the Banks County Detention Center are either being held while awaiting trial, awaiting transfer to a state prison after sentencing, or serving a short sentence for a conviction on a lesser crime.”
Banks County court proceedings have been limited to essential functions only. Inmates involved in those proceedings are appearing via teleconference from the detention center than being transported to the courthouse by deputies.
“We have increased our presence regarding burglary suppression and highway safety,” McFaddin said. “This step was strategic in order to protect our citizens from those who are looking to take advantage of the current environment we are facing. Although we have made changes, we are not altering our promise to our citizens.”
McFaddin said Speed and his administration urge residents to take the pandemic seriously and stay home as much as possible to slow the spread.
“We thank all public safety, emergency workers, health professionals, vital business employees and our entire community,” McFaddin said. “The outpouring of support, dedication, selflessness and teamwork has been outstanding in these frightening and wearisome times.”
