blivngston@themeridianstar.com



If someone steals your outdoor grill or you want to report you were assaulted by your neighbor over some sort of dispute, don't expect a sheriff's deputy to show up in person.

Thursday morning, officials at the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department informed the director of the Lauderdale County 911 Emergency services deputies would no longer respond to non-emergency calls due to what the LCSD referred to as "challenging times."

In the memo sent from LCSD Chief Dep. Ward Calhoun to 911 Emergency Dir. John Mott, Calhoun stated, "In the face of unprecedented budget cuts, we are forced to change how we respond to non-emergency calls. We are requesting that when a call for service is received by dispatchers, that the call be transferred to a deputy so a report

can be taken by telephone."

The changes in policy go into effect immediately.

Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie said Thursday afternoon county residents will probably hate him for making these changes he deems essential.

"With no relief in sight in terms of funding for fuel for the next fiscal year, we've had to take some drastic measures," said Sollie. "We are working on a fuel budget that is $112,000 less than last year and the price of gas has risen exponentially. This prioritizing of department assets means we are scraping the bottom of the barrel now in terms of our options."

Mott, who has been with the 911 Emergency since 1998 said it is unfortunate Sollie has had to resort to these measures because Mott deems the LCSD as a very good one.

"The deputies have always been very good about responding to non-emergency calls in the past," said Mott. "And I can see where some county residents will become frustrated over this. But in terms of the types of calls on this list, I don't see any here that would put someone's life in danger."

Other measures Sollie said the department has had to adopt is putting two deputies in one patrol car. The effectiveness and response time of deputies to emergency calls will be impacted in many ways including the very real chance of calls backing up because not enough officers can answer them in a timely manner. This doubling up also will reduce county law enforcement visibility that can adversely impact residents and may encourage criminals. On the one hand residents may not feel as safe not having periodic patrols moving through their areas. Likewise, criminals may feel like they have the run of the county knowing response times may be longer.

The list is not all inclusive and may be modified as needed, according to the memo. Asked if he sees on the distant horizon a time when all the patrol cars will have to be parked from lack of gas, Sollie said he honestly didn't know.

"Residents just better be careful at stop signs in the county," he added. "Because we may be parked right there with engines turned off unable to do our normal patrols."



Non-emergency calls deputies will no longer respond to in person are as follows:



Animal calls (refer to Animal Control)

Mailbox vandalism (single calls)

Request for Directions

Civil Matters (where no criminal act has occurred)

Check fraud cases

Credit card fraud cases

Petit Larceny (thefts less than $500)

Fireworks disturbance

Non-emergency MHP calls

Custody issues regarding children

Property disputes

Dog bite calls at Emergency Rooms

Two or more Alarm calls (without a key holder within two hours time span)

Improperly parked vehicles that are NOT in the roadway

Simple assault where the offender has left the scene (excluding Domestic violence calls)

Vehicle vandalism, unless a felony (More than $500)