PROGRESS  

“Since becoming Sheriff, I’ve worked to ensure our tax dollars are spent wisely on services that will benefit and protect our community. We have increased our resources and focused on strengthening our community response without costing taxpayer’s more money. We have worked diligently to make significant improvements at the Sheriff’s Office.”

STEWARD OF FIRST AND SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS 

Protecting Residents in Clark County

• Added 15 Deputy Positions
  • 10 School Resource Officers to ensure the safety of the children and staff in local school through partnerships with the school districts.
    • 2 Deputies - Northeastern Local School District
    • 2 Deputies – Tecumseh Local School District
    • 1 Deputy – Northwestern Local School District
    • 1 Deputy – Greenon Local School District
    • 1 Deputy – Clark Shawnee Local School District
    • 1 Deputy – Global Impact STEM Academy
    • 1 Deputy – Clark County Educational Service Center
    • 1 Deputy – Clark County Career Technical Center
  • Added additional Deputies assigned to:
    • Bethel Township
    • Springfield Township
    • City of New Carlisle
    • Village of South Vienna
    • Springfield Metropolitan Housing Authority
• In 2021, Sheriff Burchett decided to create the first Special Operations Team (SOT) at the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.
  • Training and membership continues to grow and resources are being added for appropriate responses to high-priority incidents.
• The Sheriff’s Office has entered a partnership with Homeland Security and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office allowing additional resources to actively combat illegal drugs and crime.
  • In the past twelve months, this multi-jurisdictional task force has seized:
    • $635,000
    • 78 kilos of illegal drugs to include: cocaine, heroin and fentanyl
    • 46 pounds of methamphetamines
    • 159 pounds of marijuana
    • 18 guns
• Sheriff Burchett, using funds obtained through a competitive federal grant, added two Deputy positions to investigate domestic violence/intimate partner crimes and provide follow-up services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, strangulation and stalking.
• Sheriff Burchett, in partnership with the Board of County Commissioners, installed high quality video equipment in the jail to ensure inmate and staff safety and security.
• In 2023, the Sheriff’s Office took on the responsibility of managing a new state of the art Communications Center which processes all 911 calls placed in Clark County and dispatches for 24 different agencies in Clark County. In the first six months of the center’s operation, over 185,000 incoming and outgoing calls have been processed.
• Implemented a SMART plan to improve sex offender registration & monitoring of sex offenders in Clark County.

Steward of Tax Payer Money

• Since becoming Sheriff, the Office has received over $3.6 million in local, state and federal grants to purchase equipment, add valuable programs and services as well as assist with employee salaries. 
• The Sheriff’s has obtained over $3.3 million worth of equipment and supplies from the Federal Law Enforcement Support Office.
• Under Sheriff Burchett, the Sheriff’s Office has always lived within the budgetary means provided by the Clark County Board of Commissioners.
• By replacing Deputies with Corrections Officers in the Clark County Jail, the Sheriff’s Office has saved taxpayer money and enhanced our recruitment efforts.

Improved Programs and Practices 

• The Sheriff’s Office is combating recidivism by employing new staff including a full-time mental health therapist, a chaplain and two case workers to prepare inmates for success through evidence based programming upon leaving the Clark County Jail.
• Sheriff Burchett has instituted Project Lifesaver, a program that ensures the safety of those (children & adults) diagnosed with cognitive disabilities, dementia, and Alzheimer’s who tend to wander.

Commitment to Community

• Sheriff Burchett is a life-long resident of Clark County who regularly participates in community-wide events and knows the importance of building and maintaining community partnerships.
• She developed the Community Trust Fund grant program that returns seized funds back into the community for organizations that provide drug abuse prevention education, treatment, crime prevention or education and services for victims of crime in Clark County.
• Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Sheriff Burchett lead efforts to ensure that elderly/vulnerable citizens who didn’t have transportation were delivered food boxes.
• During the COVID pandemic, Sheriff Burchett assigned Deputies to local stores during special shopping hours to help elderly/vulnerable citizens who were shopping feel safer and provide assistance if needed.
• She partnered with Project ChildSafe to distribute firearm safety kits, including cable-style gun locks to residents – stressing the importance of responsible gun ownership and the safe storage of firearms when they are not in use.                                                        

“These are just a few of the examples of the progress that has been made.  More can and is being done.  I believe there are many other workable solutions that will prove to be beneficial to our community.  I am ready to continue working hard to ensure the Sheriff’s Office provides services with compassion, impartially enforces the law, preserves the peace, reduces the fear of crime and develops working partnerships in the community to build trust.” – Sheriff Deborah K. Burchett