Traffic crashes are a leading cause of injury and death in Georgia and as such a major public health problem.
The tragic loss of Georgians to traffic crashes devastates families both emotionally and financially and imposes far-reaching societal cost to employees and government agencies as well as public and private insurers.
Highway safety is a major concern for Georgia’s sheriffs’ offices.
Dodge County Sheriff Jeff Hinson is committed to continuing and enhancing the collective effort at reducing these injuries and tragic deaths.
In the past, limited funds were a barrier in providing specialized highway safety enforcement training for sheriffs and their command staff statewide, until the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety partnered with the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association to provide advanced and specialized training for deputy sheriffs.
A Governor’s Office of Highway Safety grant provided an important educational opportunity at the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association 2010 Command Staff Training Conference. Three days of intensive training was conducted in Macon, April 20-22, for the upper-level command staff of sheriffs’ offices from throughout the state. More than 110 officers – including sheriffs, chief deputies and top-level command officers – participated in the training conference. Dodge County Chief Deputy Major Lynn Sheffield, Administration/Investigations Commander Captain Tony Winborn and Patrol Commander Lieutenant Donald Helms, all from the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, attended and received valuable training and information emphasizing highway safety and leadership training.
“The Command Staff Training Conference offers an opportunity for the leadership within sheriffs’ offices to attain specialized training on highway safety, leadership development and current trends in Georgia and to develop partnering relationships statewide,” stated Tonia Welch, training director of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, Inc.
“The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety thanks the sheriffs of Georgia for their commitment to keep Georgia citizens safe on our roadways in every county. With approximately 1,400 crash deaths each year, by all measures crashes are the number one public safety issue in Georgia. By implementing data-driven, best-practices traffic safety programs in every one of Georgia’s 159 counties, we will continue to see declines in crash deaths and serious crash injuries. The added benefit is, when traffic safety improves other crimes go down,” stated Bob Dallas, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
The Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, Inc. is a professional organization that represents Georgia’s 159 elected sheriffs. The association relies on the support of more than 70,000 honorary members throughout the state who recognize and value the services provided by the constitutional office of sheriff. In addition to the valuable services that the association offers to statewide law enforcement initiatives, GSA also sponsors the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes, Inc. which provides full-time residential care for Georgia’s abused, abandoned and neglected children.
