Greene County sheriff’s deputies responded to fewer calls in 2014 than in 2013, according to the annual report Greene County sheriff Steve Haupert presented to the county board of supervisors last week.
Deputies responded to a total of 2,080 calls in 2014, an average of 5.69 calls per day. The total includes calls to rural areas as well as to Grand Junction, Scranton, Churdan, Rippey, Paton and Dana. Those cities have 28E agreements with the sheriff’s office to provide law enforcement within their city limits.
Haupert tallied calls to towns and provided calculations of percentage of calls and percentage of each town’s population to the combined population of those towns (2,384, using 2010 census figures).
Grand Junction has both the highest population and the highest number of calls, but the percentage of calls doesn’t match the percentage of population. The percentage of calls is higher than the percentage of population.
Rippey and Paton would appear to be the quietest towns, at least as far as law enforcement is concerned. Their percentage of calls is lower than their percentage of population. Calls to Dana decreased by almost one-third in 2014.
Haupert’s data follows (number of calls, percentage of calls to covered towns, percentage of combined population): Grand Junction – 364 calls, 44 percent, 34.56 percent; Scranton – 192 calls, 23.2 percent, 24.1 percent; Churdan – 140 calls, 16.9 percent, 16.2 percent; Rippey – 58 calls, 7 percent, 12.15 percent; Paton – 58 calls, 6.2 percent, 9.9 percent; and Dana – 23 calls, 2.7 percent, 3 percent.
In 2013, deputies responded to 877 calls in the 28E towns as follows: Grand Junction – 399 calls, 45.6 percent; Scranton – 211 calls, 24 percent; Churdan – 117 calls, 13.6 percent; Rippey – 67 calls, 7.3 percent; Paton – 50 calls, 5.6 percent; and Dana, 33 calls – 3.8 percent. There were 2099 total calls, an average of 5.75 calls per day.
Each of the towns negotiated their own 28E agreements. Payment is based on population, but not all towns pay the same per capita.
Haupert provided information about calls related to animals. Of the 2,080 total calls, 260 (12.5 percent) were about animals. There were 146 calls about dogs, 56 calls about livestock, and 58 “other” calls (deer, coyotes, etc.). Haupert has advocated for a dedicated animal control officer and had funding during the summer for a part-time animal control officer as an internship funded by the Greene County Community Foundation. Haupert told the supervisors an animal control officer would handle 10 percent of the total calls, freeing the deputies for other work and/or patrol.
Haupert’s budget worksheet shows $113,000 being paid to the sheriff’s office for contract law enforcement. That figure is about 63 percent of the office’s total revenue. The 828 calls to towns is 40 percent of the sheriff’s office’s total calls.
