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Morgan: Additional Deputies Still On The Way For North Escambia
December 28, 2009
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan is once again reaffirming his commitment to increase the number of deputies in North Escambia. Sheriff David Morgan stated several times during 2009 that he would add five new deputies between the Century and Molino precincts before the end of the year.
While the additional deputies will not be assigned to North Escambia for a few more months, Morgan told NorthEscambia.com that they are still on the way.
The increased staffing, which Morgan first promised at a May meeting in Molino, was delayed by budget cutbacks and overall staffing problems in the department, he said.
“Now you are looking at the end of February,” the sheriff said. The new North Escambia deputies will be from a pool of 20 new officers to be hired with a $3.3 million, three-year COPS Hiring Recover Grant. The Escambia County Commission has committed to funding $1.1 million to keep the 20 deputies on the payroll for one year after the three-year grant comes to an end.
Morgan said his department has tracked the crime statistics in North Escambia on a monthly basis to make sure there has not been an upswing in crime in the area.
“There has not been significant trend in crime,” Morgan said. “Sgt. (Kevin) Vickrey has been holding his own.” Vickrey is a sergeant assigned to the Molino precinct.
During 2009, Morgan did follow through a campaign promise by reopening the Walnut Hill Substation that had sat empty since it was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. The Walnut Hill “Precinct 7″ is open on Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. under the supervision of Lt. Carl Jones from the Century Precinct. Jones said the precinct provides the Walnut Hill Community with easy access to the Sheriff’s Office. Residents are able to file a report, or just stop by and express concerns about issues in their community, he said.
There were extra deputies assigned to the two North Escambia precincts during the summer, Commander Bobby Jackson said recently, but they were school resource officers working regular patrol. They returned to their school assignments in late August. In addition, medical leave has plagued the department, taking officers assigned to North Escambia off the street for weeks at a time.
Comments
12 Responses to “Morgan: Additional Deputies Still On The Way For North Escambia”
I have stopped calling the police for anything.
The officer that came could have cared less, all he did was brag
and talk about hunting.
I hope sherriff morgan is able to straighten things out up here.
There is wayyyy to much bad going on in this part of the county.
I’m sure it takes a long time to clean up a mess, that has been
shaping up for a long time and being neglected.
I will be watching to see how this man does in the future.
Good luck Mr Morgan
Keep your eye on the ball, and always do the right thing, and
you will do great things here.
I am so excited that the sheriff responded to me! no seriously, I am! this means he reads and listens to the citizens, and as far as I can tell he is the first to do this. I do not agree with the budget cuts from the ECSO budget. I also did not know ticket money does not go back to the ECSO. I am a supporter of Sheriff Morgans ideas and plans for the future. As a citizen I am going to pay close attention to the county commissioners and what they do. As citizens We can speak out and let the politicians know we are tierd of being on the back burner. I am not going to support or vote for people who are not willing to support the sherriff and the needs of the north end. Thank you sheriff morgan for your efforts. you have my support.
I am proud of the job our sheriff is doing in the Century area. There has been a noticeable increase of presence of deputy coverage in the Century area since Sheriff Morgan took office. There has also been many drug busts, and arrests made on other crimes throughtout the year. The response time to calls are much faster, professionalism has been restored to the department and honor and integrity has been restored to the office of Sheriff.
Sheriff David Morgan, I am proud to call you our sheriff; I am proud of the job that you are doing; I am proud that you know the Northend exists and that although you’ve had limited resources- we have not been overlooked, mistreated, or forgotten!
I appreciate your fortitude to standup to the county administrator to fight for what you
needed for the department. It takes time to rebuild a department that has been let go for a long time , i.e. old equipment, cars, etc. As “Rome was not built in a day…” ; neither will all the problems that you inheritated be fixed over night. But Awareness that there is anything that needs attention is a very big first step and you definitely have the awareness and willingness to make our Entire County a better place to live! Keep up the good work!
This article is full of misinformation. I wish Mr. Morgan would check with some people that have knowledge about these things before he comments. Sgt. Vickrey is not the one in charge of the Molino precinct. Although he would be a good man for the job. There has been an increase in crime in the Northend of the county. And as far as the extra deputies assigned to the precincts during the summer, that is a joke. Us citizens never seen any increase in deputies. From what I have heard, the extra deputies that were supposedly assigned, never came in to work or if they did, they only worked for a couple of days. That’s okay. I know who I am voting for at the next election.
Joe-
“retorick” – ha ha haaa!
otherwise, good comment
Mike Allen- how do you get wiggy on a piggly? Or get a wig on a pig?
Just kidding.
I AM VERY HAPPY WITH THE JOB MR.MORGAN IS DOING FOR US. I HOPE HE WILL BE IN OFFICE FOR SOME TIME TO COME . MY ONLY CONCERN RIGHT NOW IS THE SPEEDING PROBLEM WE HAVE ON HIGHWAY 95-A IN MOLINO . I HAVE REPORTED THIS MANY TIMES WITH ONLY MINOR RESULTS. I REALIZE THERE ARE OTHER ISSUES TO DEAL WITH ALL OVER THE COUNTY , BUT WITH GRAVEL TRUCKS AND LOG TRUCKS RUNNING 60 AND 70 MPH ON THIS ROAD WITH SCHOOL BUSES AND GARBAGE TRUCKS STOPPING IS A RECIPE FOR DISASTER. IT’S A WONDER NO ONE HAS BEEN KILLED YET. ALL IN ALL , I WOULD LIKE TO SAY TO MR.MORGAN AND KEVIN WHITE , KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND WE SUPPORT YOU COMPLETELY!
I think Mr. Morgan is doing a good job with what he has to do with. I know it’s hard with all the cut backs that have been going on this past year. I think Mr. Morgan has made a good start, and I think things will get even better. I personally thank Mr. Morgan for what he has did with getting a lot of the drug heads on the north end of the county. He has already did more than our last sheriff did the whole time he was in office. You go man, you got friends behind you that supports you whole heartedly!
To “Joe”:
You may not be aware of how the budget process works, but revenue generated from the issuance of traffic citations “does not” come back to the ECSO. Approximately $3.00 from every citation is sent to the state where it is placed in a State Law Enforcement Training (SLET) fund. These monies are then used for that very purpose, training. We cannot use it for hiring nor salaries, overtime, etc.
The Parking Enforcement group, that works for the County Commission/Administrator, does in fact generate monies for the county general fund, but this also “does not” come back to the ECSO.
I spoke with Cmdr Jackson and Capt Haines on this very issue just before the holidays and reconfirmed my committment to getting the additional deputies assigned. The next group available for assignment will be in Feb of 2010.
Believe me, one doesn’t make these sorts of promises without a firm intent to fulfill them. Someone is always there waiting to remind you of one that is not completed.
Thanks for your continued interest in the management and oversight of the ECSO.
David Morgan, Sheriff
Escambia County
(850) 436-9512
I can understand that money is tight. I’m sure the new rookies will be thrilled to be assigned to the north end. At least they will have a job that will keep them busy. I agree that just writing tickets on hwy 97 will generate enough money to pay salaries. Two people passed me on double yellow lines today and both were going at least 70 miles per hour. This is a very dangerous road and we cannot get help up here too soon.
Howdy i work at the piggly wiggy in century. Ive worked with alot of deputies they are very professional at there job very pleasant good old boys keep up the great work GOD BLESS MIKE
I hope that everyone who reads this story remembers all the $$$ that the County Commission removed from the ESCO’s budget.
Sheriff Morgan is doing a good job with what he has available.
The crime up North, is present but not to the degree it is present elsewhere (thankfully). Be glad that the numbers have (not yet) supported assigning more assets up north.
Well the year is almost over, and it appears that these promises were just campaign retorick. The north end will continue to be overlooked as it has for many years. I have been saying for a long time that officers could be assigned to the north end and write tickets on 97 and pay the salaries for everyone assigned there. 4 or 5 officers assigned to the walnut area would generate enough money just from speeders on 97. Personally I am tierd of waiting over 30 minutes for deputies to respond to calls in our area. It is time the sherif makes good on the promises!