A Race For Public Safety:
How Oconee County sheriff candidates plan to bring emergency services closer to residents
How Oconee County sheriff candidates plan to bring emergency services closer to residents
In Oconee County, Georgia, studies have shown that its public safety capacity falls significantly short compared to its high-performing counterparts, which means that law enforcement has had to become more creative in order to serve the needs of its residents.
The county’s upcoming election for the sheriff’s office spotlights this issue, with incumbent Republican candidate James Hale already working with law enforcement to improve its emergency response preparedness, and Democrat candidate Reginald Wade entering the race with ideas and solutions of his own.
Why It’s Newsworthy: The sheriff’s office is largely responsible for its county’s public safety, which is why with these upcoming elections, it is important for residents to be informed of the current low accessibility of emergency services in their area, as well as how both their local political candidates are—or are planning to— address this issue.
Oconee County’s annual budget reports show that total expenditure on its public safety department has increased in the last four years, going from around $1,043,907 in 2020 to $3,143,706 in 2023.
However, according to a 2023 study by the U.S. News & World Report, the county’s public safety capacity is still significantly low when it comes to its per capita spending on health and emergency services and the percentage of its population that lives within a mile of an emergency facility.
Along with its proximity to emergency services, by the U.S. News study’s metrics, Oconee County’s per capita spending on healthcare and emergency services is still around 60% less than the US average and around 66% less than the average of its peer group of other high performing counties.
What may account for this low spending, is that like other counties with smaller population densities, Oconee County’s fire rescue and medical responder departments are made almost entirely of volunteers, and are therefore not always fully staffed or available.
Combined with the long distances emergency services have to cover, this means that the first people on the scene of incidents like fires and car accidents are often law enforcement.
Watch how the Oconee County sheriff candidates for November’s general election plan to utilize law enforcement to improve their county’s public safety.