Funding struggles and whether the current administration is adequately serving Jefferson County are major issues for the three candidates running for county sheriff.
Maj. Lafayette Woods, a current sheriff's office employee; Larry E. Gragg Jr., a former sheriff's office employee; and Roger McLemore, a 38-year veteran of the Arkansas State Police, are running to be the chief lawman of the county. All are Pine Bluff residents.
The four-year position pays $75,555 a year. Whoever wins Tuesday's Democratic primary election will begin serving as sheriff Jan. 1, replacing Gerald Robinson, who is running for county judge.
The candidates recently discussed county budget difficulties brought on by a loss in population and subsequent loss of tax dollars.
"Jefferson County is a diamond in the rough," Gragg said. "There's absolutely no reason for Jefferson County to be declining, because it has so much infrastructure in place."
The sheriff's office budget has weathered some cuts off and on, some of which resulted in the loss of positions from 2015 to 2016.
According to the county clerk's office, the sheriff's office 2018 budget is about $2 million, not including the jail.
The candidates have plans for how best to approach the budget constraints.
Gragg, 48, said he would work with businesses, churches and other community groups to solicit donations and devise collaborative efforts to help ensure that criminal offenders don't become repeat offenders.
Woods, 37, said he would urge the Jefferson County Quorum Court to prioritize funding for law enforcement. He also said he would find ways to save money through increased use of grant funding and have people work off their fines by doing manual labor, such as mowing lawns.
McLemore, 65, said he would review line items in the budget to find ways to cut waste and ensure that only inmates -- not employees -- are eating the food served at the jail, thereby saving money on food costs.
CRIME RATE
Comparing the crime rate in Jefferson County with rates in other counties is difficult.
Police agencies report crime data to the FBI, which then compiles it. The data include only crimes reported by an agency, not necessarily all crimes within a municipal or county boundary, and some police departments aren't included in data available on the FBI's website.
The latest U.S. Department of Justice census on law enforcement agencies is from 2008, making it even more difficult to compare, because many smaller agencies have consolidated with sheriff's offices over the years.
For the whole county, including its cities, Jefferson County had 123.6 crimes per 1,000 people, and Pulaski County had 136.3 crimes per 1,000 people, according to Arkansas Democrat-Gazette calculations.
Gragg and Woods said crime is a problem in Jefferson County but the perception of how much of a problem is overblown. McLemore said crimes are a reason people keep moving out of the county, and he thinks it takes too long for the sheriff's office to investigate them.
All three candidates mentioned drugs as a particular scourge in the county.
The sheriff's office reported 52 drug or narcotic offenses to the FBI in 2016, the latest year for which data are available. All the candidates agreed that more can be done to catch more people selling drugs.
Drugs -- particularly crystal meth, cocaine and opioids -- are a major problems in the county, Gragg said. He said he wants to increase the seizure of assets and the penalties for people accused of drug crimes.
Woods wants to use more officers to combat drug trafficking and cooperate with other law enforcement agencies in that effort. The sheriff's office already works with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
McLemore said he would make sure more officers are out on patrol, looking for people committing drug crimes.
"One of the biggest issues I see with the sheriff's department is honesty," McLemore said.
Many people in the community do not want to call the sheriff's office about a crime because they do not trust the office to adequately investigate it in a timely manner, he said.
McLemore said he would work to speed up the time it takes officers to investigate crime reports, and he favors hiring a female police officer to help work with rape victims.
Gragg said that as sheriff he would be accessible to residents, letting people make appointments with him and he'd keep those appointments.
Gragg said he believes mismanagement, including unfair treatment and pay among the staff, has led to turnover in the department.
Woods said employee retention is a problem. He attributed it to low pay, the difficulty of the job and the criticism officers receive. Those are problems at other law enforcement agencies too, he said, mentioning a backlash against officers amid the national conversation about police shootings.
A career in "law enforcement is not really, really attractive anymore," he said.
Woods wants to expand officer recruitment efforts and pay two to three interns to work at the sheriff's office each year.
Gragg said he went into law enforcement in 1996, taking a job with the Drew County sheriff's office until 2001 when he started working at the sheriff's office in Jefferson County. Gragg said he has worked in every division in the sheriff's office from 2001-13, including the jail, and spent the bulk of his time in the criminal investigations division. Since 2013, he's worked full time as a Farmer's Insurance agent and a part-time officer with the Redfield Police Department.
McLemore worked with the Warren Police Department from 1975-78. In 1978, he started his job with the Arkansas State Police in Pine Bluff, first in highway patrol and then in the criminal division, working throughout the state's southeast quadrant. He retired in 2010 as a senior special agent in the criminal division.
Woods earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 2004 and has worked with the sheriff's office or the Drug Enforcement Administration ever since. He's currently in charge of operations at the sheriff's office and doubles as the agency's public information officer.
Metro on 05/20/2018