New Sheriff initiates department changes

by Natalie Myers
Staff Writer

Since the election of Sheriff Vern Castle, the Athens County Sheriff's Office has undergone some changes and reorganization.

During his campaign Castle said he wanted to reorganize the department by conducting more public meetings and having officers perform fewer traffic stops. These changes have already started.

"It is going very well," Castle said.

Weekly meetings are held every Monday to promote communication among representatives from the Athens Police Department, Ohio University Police Department and the sheriff's office, Castle said. During the meetings information is shared in order to improve cooperation between the departments.

"Sheriff Castle came in and has gotten a lot of cooperation from other agencies," said Lt. Rodney Smith of the sheriff's office. "It is better than it has been in the past."

A meeting also is held the second Thursday of each month with other area law enforcement agencies, Castle said. In March two officers will be attending a class about crimes against the elderly to educate the department in handling these cases better.

Although APD Chief Richard Mayer said he did not think communication was bad in the past, he has noticed a more regular pattern in the conversations between the departments.

"We have regular meetings between the investigative units of the two departments," he said.

Another change underway is the office's approach toward traffic stops. Castle said he discourages the officers from conducting traffic stops.

"We want to spend more time on burglaries and shootings - more serious offenses," he said. "We want the focus to be on felony-type cases."

Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Greenwood said he has not noticed an increase in traffic citations by OSHP in the Athens area.

"Our primary function is to investigate crashes," he said. "[The Sheriff's Department] assists us, and we assist them. They investigate traffic crashes also."

The jurisdiction of OSHP encompasses any state property, including state highways, Greenwood said. Meanwhile, the sheriff's office focuses more on the county roads.

"We are trying to keep the deputies as much as possible off state roads and on the county and township roads," Smith said.