AKRON – April 14th marks one-hundred days since Kandy Fatheree assumed the Office of Summit County Sheriff. Fatheree came into her new role with a list of priorities and reforms she intended to make within the organization. She hit the ground running on day one and has not slowed down since.
One of Sheriff Fatheree’s top priorities is the issue of recidivism. Over the past one-hundred days, she has met with Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh, several judges, and different organizations to establish new processes and procedures at the county jail aimed at reducing recidivism by steering inmates towards resources and services that will help them readjust after their release.
Sheriff Fatheree also remains steadfastly committed to the goal of fostering an atmosphere of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Sheriff’s Office. One of her first accomplishments early on was obtaining county approval of a newly- established Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, a position which will be filled by the end of this month.
Sheriff Fatheree, with the cooperation of Clerk of Courts Sandra Kurt, has also worked out a solution to remedy the county’s long-standing scheduling backlog for those wishing to obtain or renew their CCW license. By the end of this month, a new CCW office will be fully operational inside the existing Title Bureau office on Tallmadge Road in Akron. This secondary location is more conveniently located for many residents, it will double the current CCW processing capabilities, and it will offer expanded weekday and weekend hours to better accommodate working families.
Another project nearing finalization is the establishment of a county regional dispatch center. The Sheriff’s Office has been working with County Executive Ilene Shapiro and her staff, as well as area communities to finalize this operation, which will bring together in one location several communities’ emergency dispatch operations, as well as the multifaceted dispatching functions of the Sheriff’sOffice. This effort will serve to streamline and modernize our collective dispatch capabilities, and ultimately lower the cost of providing those services to taxpayers.
Among Sheriff Fatheree’s top goals was to increase the overall training and professionalism of all Sheriff’s Office staff. This project began in February, with a new two-day training session for all newly-promoted sergeants, which will become the standard going forward for all staff promoted to supervisory roles. Further, all Corrections Division supervisors will participate in a five-day training session in May, with another to be repeated during the summer. This training is being hosted by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and is open for all Ohio County Sheriff’s staff to attend.
Sheriff Fatheree has also reformed the promotional process, appropriately steering the Office towards a merit-based system of promotions, which allows those who demonstrate the qualities we strive for in our organization to rise and serve as an example to those they serve with. Additionally, those who sought a promotion but did not receive it will be mentored on areas needing improvement, so that they may work to achieve promotion in the future rather than be discouraged.
Sheriff Fatheree also promised to make the Sheriff’s Office more accessible, and to increase communication and openness with the community. She has done this by expanding the Office’s social media presence, launching a video series called Questions for the Sheriff, boosted the digital accessibility of the Sheriff’s Office bulletin, the SHIELD, and is in the process of overhauling the Sheriff’s Office website and launching a mobile app. Sheriff Fatheree has also begun having regular meetings with local police chiefs, and plans to make visits and give remarks in communities throughout the county as COVID-19 restrictions ease up.
Somewhat lesser known to the public is the fact that the Sheriff’s Office is involved in the county’s foreclosure process from start to finish, which includes the appraisal process. As part of Sheriff Fatheree’s reforms, she has established additional required training for all Sheriff’s appraisers going forward, which occurred last week with all sixteen appraisers in attendance for a training seminar.
Sheriff Fatheree also made county history last week when she promoted current chaplain, Deputy James Allshouse, to be the Sheriff’s Office’s first full-time chaplain.
