It is unfortunate that twice within the last month I have had to express my disappointment in how The Sentinel-Record does not require its reporter, David Showers, to follow the basic ethical and professional standards of journalism.
In the past few days, this newspaper allowed two stories to be published about the Garland County sheriff's office without any attempt to reach me or anyone within my office for a comment. As a result, this newspaper published information that was completely taken out of context and provided to the newspaper's readers an incomplete and unfair understanding of the operations of the sheriff's office. While it is not my desire to fire back at The Sentinel-Record or Mr. Showers, it is my duty to set the record straight on a number of issues.
If Mr. Showers, or anyone at the newspaper, had asked about the operation of the Garland County Juvenile Detention Center, they would have learned that a reduction in population is the result of juvenile justice reforms, coordinated between the circuit court and the sheriff's office. Because of the juvenile justice reforms more than half of the Garland County juvenile offenders no longer are incarcerated. Their parents now take greater responsibility so they stay home and they stay in school -- rather than being locked up. Thus, the average population of Garland County youth being detained has been cut approximately in half. As a result, the juvenile detention center is underutilization and I have had several meetings with Circuit Court Judge Wade Naramore about alternate uses for it. This all takes time and if Mr. Showers or any Sentinel-Record reporter had asked, I would have shared that information.
Mr. Showers continues his attempts to smear the sheriff's office by making the legitimate use of funds from the Communication Facility and Equipment Fund into a headline article. Had he contacted me, he would have learned that money in that fund is being wisely used for the purchase of additional communications equipment, transport vehicles, and other sheriff's office needs. These funds are generated from various sources, including fees collected from inmates for telephone and commissary services.
I take great pride in the exceptional work being done by the women and men of the Garland County Sheriff's Office. Our detention center has visitors from around the country touring it, we have the highest number of certified jail administrators of any facility in the state and one of our own was named Correctional Supervisor of the Year in 2018 by the American Jail Association. Information in The Sentinel-Record about the GCSO that is incomplete or inaccurate is unacceptable to me and should be to the readers.
I can only assume that Mr. Showers has received the same type of training that other journalists are required to complete. Perhaps it's time he refreshes himself on the preamble to the standards of the Society of Professional Journalists: "Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough."
Editorial on 08/15/2019