Columbia County Sheriff Clay Whittle talked with about 20 residents Wednesday night about dealing with gangs, carrying concealed guns, thanking cops and disciplining and loving your children.
But his biggest advice was this: “Remember to lock those cars, folks.”
Those were his parting words after a two-hour town hall meeting in the Columbia County commissioners’ auditorium in Evans. The event was organized by the Republican Party of Columbia County.
Most of the questions from those in attendance were about gangs and Whittle, 62, said there are gang members who live in Columbia County, but that most of the gang crime and about 70% of the jail inmates come from outside Columbia County. He said most gang crime in the county involves criminals coming into residential areas late at night to steal from unlocked cars.
He mentioned a video captured on a doorbell camera that showed a burglar with gun in hand, going up to parked cars checking to see if they were locked.
“It’s become more dangerous because they carry guns,” Whittle said. “Be very careful if you see that in your neighborhood.”
Whittle said to call 911, give dispatchers a good description and do not confront the thieves, since it’s likely they are armed.
The talk was moderated by Lee Muns, a Columbia County businessman who ran unsuccessfully for Columbia County commission in 2018.
Questioners were also interested in the new concealed carry law signed by Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday that allows residents to carry a handgun without getting a permit. Whittle said he fully supports the new law.
“The Second Amendment is your permit,” Whittle said.
He spoke about how his office used to get hundreds of applications from men and women who wanted to become deputies. Now his office gets one or two a month, he said.
That means on a good day he will have 12 deputies on patrol when he needs a minimum of 18, he said. He cited a turn in how police officers are viewed because of brutality claims as one reason fewer young people want to become law enforcement officers.
“We enjoy a tremendous amount of support in Columbia County,” he said. “That is truly not the attitude of the rest of our country.”
He often asks young men and women who sign up to become firefighters why they didn’t want to join the sheriff’s office.
“They say, ‘Sheriff, it’s not really popular to be a police officer today.’ And that frustrates me more than anything,” he said.
Whittle touted the $7 million training complex at the Appling facility. Law enforcement recruits from 17 Georgia counties attend classes at the complex to become deputies and police officers. He said the failure rate has decreased significantly since the creation of the police academy.
He is proudest of how his deputies have become more and more professional and also how the reported crime rate has continuously decreased since he was elected sheriff in 1996.
He also talked at length about the creation of the Columbia County Judicial Circuit, which broke away from a three-county circuit after the election of Jared Williams to district attorney, who won in 2020. Williams was a criminal defense attorney and seen as less conservative than typical district attorneys who had prosecuted cases in Columbia, Richmond and Burke counties. Kemp signed a law in 2021 that created a single judicial circuit court in Columbia County and now Williams is the top prosecutor for only Richmond and Burke counties. Whittle never mentioned Williams by name during the town hall meeting.
“This is a difference of judicial philosophy,” Whittle said. “Go get the bad guy, lock him up and put him in jail so he can’t commit a crime again.”
Joshua B. Good is a staff reporter covering Columbia County and military/veterans’ issues for The Augusta Press. Reach him at joshua@theaugustapress.com
