Welcome to a New Year

Dear Citizens,

As we have now entered into a new year and bid farewell to 2020, I would like to take this opportunity to extend our best wishes for a safe New Year from the men and women of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

Each year, our office strives to improve programs and services for our community. During 2020, improvements and accomplishments included:

-Partnership with multiple organizations including At&t through its "Believe Arkansas" program to combat hunger. Through this partnership, deputies have been able to distribute "Patrol Packs"- tote bags of easy-to-prepare grocery items to families in Jefferson County. This partnership offers some much-needed assistance to local food banks, which have been experiencing a 50% spike in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

-Grant Awards totaling over $350,000.00 to improve and technology.

-Submission and acceptance of grant application administered by the Arkansas Department of Transportation of the Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Office for eCrash and eCite System, a process-level solution to the outdated and time-consuming paper crash report form used by law enforcement and the court system.

-Implementation of JusticeBridge, a teleconferencing system installed inside Jefferson County Sheriff's Office "W.C. "Dub" Brassell Adult Detention Center" to connect detainees and the county judicial system. This system will not only save the costs of transporting detainees including state inmates but also help reduce risks involved in transporting jail detainees to court. Additionally, Justice Bridge also helps defray costs associated with jail detainee transportation to include salaries of personnel and operational costs.

-Acquisition of new dual-purpose (patrol/detection) Sheriff K-9 "Sergeant Rico" made possible through the generous financial donations of J. Thomas May (Simmons First Foundation), Michael Stevens, and Leah Hale (Precision Alarm), Joel Foster (Foster Motor Company). In the current climate of uncertainty, all public safety services are conscious of the need to resolve situations quickly and with the best possible outcomes for all concerned. Having K-9's like Sergeant Soder and now Sergeant Rico ensures the safety of deputies and resolving situations quickly involving the apprehension of suspects and detection of illegal narcotics.

-Acquisition and implementation of Guardian RFID, a personnel management tool as well as a jail detainee tracking, cell checking, security checking, and record-keeping tool. The systems logs every cell check, track every jail detainee movement and automate activity logging to help optimize staff performance and manage your inmates more effectively.

As we begin this year, my commitment to the citizens of Jefferson County remains stronger than ever, and I will continue to work with you to improve the quality of life for current and future residents. It is my goal to make 2021 a year where members of our community feel safer and are encouraged to more often extend a helping hand to neighbors, coworkers, family, friends, and strangers in need.

It's a real pleasure to say "thank you" to our community as we wish you a joyous New Year, full of happiness and success. It is an honor to serve you and I look forward to many more years of service as your Sheriff.

Please contact my office if my staff and I can be of assistance.

Thank you,

Lafayette Woods, Jr.
Sheriff