Since his website did not state what position Mr. Francis took on the proposed new jail the current sheriff wants, I emailed him and asked him. I also asked him if he believes that more officers need to be hired. Below is his response.
"Thanks for the intretrest in the candidates positions. The current sheriff and I were in the 2000 elections and both of us at that time had mentioned the need for a new jail. Its now 8 years later and thanks to the county commissioners adding additional funding to the SPLOST initiatives every time, we still don't have a new jail. Although we do have the land for one. With that said yes we do need a new jail and if your building one why build it for needs in 2009 and not for needs in 2025. The county has increased in size by almost 25,000 people in 8 years. It will increase again and if crime increases exponentially with the population then the need for a larger jail is inevitable. The current jail has sewage running into cells, the first law suit brought and won may be the same amount the county has to pay for a new jail. So to answer your question yes I am for a new jail but big enough to handle the city and county prisoners as well as to accommodate the growth of the county.
As to your next question I am in favor of hiring more deputies but I also want to be sure the ones we have are better paid. I want to look into some state and federal grant programs to use their money and not the county tax payers funds to hire people for additional programs. That would free up current deputies to respond more quickly to calls putting more on the street. Homeland defense is big on federal grant programs for local communities.
Hope this answers your questions and thanks for giving me an opportunity to be heard.
John"
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