About Your Sheriff's Office
The Taliaferro County Sheriff's Office provides 24-hour services for the protection of life and property and the preservation of the public peace in Taliaferro County, Georgia. The office is organized into four divisions, Uniform Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Support Services and Special Operations. Every employee is dedicated to providing the highest level of service possible to our residents, our visitors and the thousands of people who pass through our county every day.
The Sheriff's Office enforces federal, state and local laws and ordinances, investigates all crimes in the county and arrests violators. Deputies also serve criminal warrants, civil papers and subpoenas, execute evictions, transport prisoners to court, provide security for State, Superior, Magistrate and Juvenile Courts and juries and the Taliaferro County Courthouse. Deputies also patrol the county's roads, highways and Interstate 20, enforcing traffic laws and investigating traffic accidents.
The Sheriff is also responsible for the administration of the jail, the physical health and welfare of all inmates in the jail and the management of their property and money.
The Sheriff's Office also serves as a source of crime prevention and safety information, providing lectures and programs to community groups, civic associations, and schoolchildren of all ages. Deputies also assist victims of crime, accidents, injury and misfortune whenever possible.
The importance of the Office of Sheriff was expressed by Thomas Jefferson, who wrote, “The Office of Sheriff is the most important of all the executive offices of the county.”
President Ronald Reagan stressed this theme of importance in his address to the National Sheriff’s Association on June 21, 1984: "Thank you for standing up for this nation’s dream of personal freedom under the rule of law. Thank you for standing against those who would transform that dream into a nightmare of wrongdoing and lawlessness. And thank you for your service to your communities, to your country and to the cause of law and justice."
The Office of Sheriff is rich in history. With the exception of king, no non-religious office in the English-speaking world is older. It is the oldest law enforcement office known within the common-law system and it has always been accorded great dignity and high trust. Sheriffs have served and protected the English-speaking people for more than a thousand years.
Here are some of the things we do for our county:
- Protect life, property, and preserve public peace
- Provide physical security at the courthouse and in courtrooms
- Serve as bailiffs to the courts
- Serve summonses, subpoenas, warrants, and civil process papers
- Execute court orders
- Transport the mentally ill to appropriate institutions
- Direct traffic, investigate accidents, and enforce traffic laws
- Answer calls and complaints regarding fires, misdemeanors and felonies
- Investigate crimes and search for missing persons
- Provide escorts for funerals, parades, and hazardous situations
- Provide security at special events
- Assist motorists
- Provide directions
- Enforce laws and make arrests when necessary
- Deter crime through crime prevention efforts
- Perform business and residential security checks
- Responsible for health, safety, and welfare of prisoners, including preventing escapes
- Provide drug abuse resistance education to the community
- Narcotic detection through the use of the K-9 Unit
