FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) - Sheriff Tim Helder is now the longest running sheriff in Washington County's history. Helder was sworn in Friday morning (Jan. 2) for his 6th term.
Helder said one of his top priorities is monitoring overcrowding at the county jail.
"We were at a point probably just within the last three months, that we were tipping the scales of being disproportionately overcrowded with state inmates, and they've done a good job in the last month and a half of taking them away," the sheriff said.
He said when the Sheriff's Association meets at the end of January, he will be asking for more funding to reimburse counties for holding state detainees. He said right now the jail gets $28 a day per inmate, but that's not enough.
"The average cost for a county to house a state inmate is around 45 or 50 dollars, so all we're asking for is that they address that issue, at whatever rate they can reimburse to increase that, so that will help us offset some of our costs," Helder said.
He said he is also going to ask for funding so his deputies can get training on how to handle people with mental illnesses.
"We need additional beds within our local communities, we need mental health professionals, more of them, and we do need additional training within our law enforcement community with the mentally ill," Helder said.
The sheriff said the county is also looking into getting body cameras for deputies and a computerized dispatch system.