Hancock County Sheriff Brad Burkhart watches from an upstairs observation post as prisoners are moved into the new jail. Intake numbers increased dramatically in 2022 with the opening of the new Hancock County Jail.
File photo
HANCOCK COUNTY — Officials with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office shared 2022 statistics recently which showed, in some areas, run numbers decreased from 2021 stats. However, there were a few increases. Sheriff’s officials noted that numbers can be somewhat deceiving with just an initial glance and must be looked into further to get a complete understanding.
The largest increase in work for the Sheriff’s office came in the Jail Division where intake numbers increased dramatically in 2022 with the opening of the new Hancock County Jail. The jail had 2,172 jail bookings in 2022, up considerably from 1,246 bookings in 2021.
A look at inmate count numbers on Jan. 30 throughout three years shows they were at 114 inmates in 2021 and 170 in 2022. This month, they are at 229. Sheriff Brad Burkhart noted that, after an initial rise in intake numbers, they are starting to see a trend downward in the jail population.
“I’m not sure if it’s due to getting through some of the court cases as a result of COVID or some other reasons,” Burkhart said. “Maybe some results are from programming, but it may be too soon for that.”
The jail had as many as 305 inmates in Oct. 2022, but had dropped to 228 as of Tuesday, Jan 31.
As for deputy work on the county roads in 2022, Capt. Robert Harris took a deep dive into the statistics to break down why some categories saw a decrease. For example, he pointed out how their vehicle crashes were down by 130 reports from 2021 to 2022. However, the department is attributing this to an increase in traffic stops and enforcement, as well as the public driving more safely.
Harris is correct in that the department worked on 1,283 vehicle crashes in 2021 and 1,153 in 2022. However, traffic stops did increase significantly from 3,016 in 2021 to 3,916 in 2022.
“Similarly, our calls for reckless drivers went down by 142,” Harris said. “We would also like to attribute that to increased traffic enforcement.”
Harris pointed out deputies also conducted fewer neighborhood checks, with the number dropping by 548 in 2022.
“This looks like a lot until we realize deputies were still in the neighborhoods, however they were conducting traffic stops and completing more calls for service in the neighborhoods instead of just checking them,” Harris said. “Since our officers spend more time on calls and traffic stops, even though their activity in the neighborhoods looks like it decreased, it actually increased.”
Harris believes this had an impact on citizens feeling more safe and secure and is reflected by the reduced number of “paid details” where officers worked when businesses or citizens called them to hire an officer for security.
“That number dropped by 105 from 2021 to 2022,” Harris said.
Overall, the combination of those calls attribute to 925 fewer incident numbers observed in 2022 compared to 2021.
The decrease in some numbers is exactly what county law enforcement want to see. In essence, the numbers went down in some areas they hoped for like crashes, reckless drivers, etc., but the numbers increased in areas they want, such as traffic stops.
“Our guys are very hard at work,” Harris said. “With the continued growth of the county and the addition of five new deputies who are eager to hit the streets, we feel the right numbers will increase.”
Harris anticipates while 2022 numbers were looking good in all key areas, they will be increasing in 2023 as the community continues to grow.
As for current merit deputy numbers, Burkhart said the are full and have 32 currently assigned to their road division, five new deputies are in training for the road division, six officials are working investigations and seven officials are assigned to administrative duties.
“Right now, we do not have any more new spots approved for 2023,” Harris said. “However, the Sheriff is still asking the council for more.”
The department will then begin another hiring process to create a new hiring list once new positions are approved. Harris also noted while the jail is currently down several officers, they are in the process of finalizing several new hires there.
Hancock County Sheriff’s Office 2022 vs 2021 Stats:
Total Patrol Events: 23,956 in 2022; 24,138 in 2021
Field Arrests: 521 in 2022; 447 in 2021
Incident Reports – investigations: 1,351 in 2022; 1,515 in 2021
Traffic Stop: 3,916 in 2022; 3,016 in 2021
Vehicle Crashes: 1,153 in 2022; 1,283 in 2021
Civil Process calls: 1,987 in 2022; 1,793 in 2021
Break-in Alarms: 714 in 2022; 683 in 2021
Total Jail Bookings: 2,172 in 2022; 1,246 in 2021
