Newton County’s new sheriff is wasting no time implementing new ideas to make residents safer. Sheriff Joedy Pennington told the Board of Supervisors Monday the county had seen round-the-clock patrols since he took office January 1, and that was here to stay.
“As of the first of January, we’ve had full 24-hour coverage, and it’s going to stay that way,” he said.
And, Pennington said, by tweaking deputies work schedules, it means deputies won’t need to pull longer shifts.
Currently, the Newton County Sheriff’s Department has ten full-time and 17 part time officers. Pennington explained by mixing full and part time officers across two 12-hour shifts and using data and law enforcement knowledge to identify peak call times, deputies are able to work their 12-hour shift and go home.
“Doing 24-hour coverage, it cuts down on the overtime,” he said. “They’re guaranteed money, what they get paid, and there will be very little overtime, so we’re saving money.”
Pennington said he did have to hire several part-time officers to create a pool that could meet all the part-time shifts needed to provide 24-hour staffing. However, he said, all of the officers hired, both full and part time, are fully certified law enforcement officers.
In addition to hiring part-time deputies, Pennington said he also moved four deputies to salary, including his chief deputy, chief investigator, chief narcotics investigator and shift lead.
While the changes have increased residents’ safety, the lack of overtime has also helped the deputies with the county’s 7K plan, a sliding-scale pay system in which deputies could see their hourly wage drop the more they work.
“I had full intention coming here and doing my best to get off 7K,” Pennington said. “But when we put shifts on, and a full-time deputy is only working 12 hours, and there’s no call outs, it’s a brand-new platform.”
Pennington said the changes he’s implemented have been met with largely positive response from both the community and the deputies.
“So far it’s working really well,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of good response.”
In other business, Pennington and the Board of Supervisors discussed the possibility of using a grant from Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to pay a Solid Waste Officer for Newton County. The officer would have the power to issue citations for illegal dumping and would be able to supervise inmates in picking up trash alongside roads.
The Board of Supervisors previously discussed using the $19,000 grant to hire a Solid Waste Officer but held off making a decision until Pennington could be sworn in and provide input from the Sheriff’s Department.
Pennington said he would gather more information about the cost and restrictions of a Solid Waste Officer and bring them to the board at the next meeting.
