“A NEW BEGINNING” PLATFORM

PHASE ONE - Standards

1- Moral and Ethical Standard A mission of the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office under my watch will be to enhance professionalism through moral and ethical standard and integrity. By doing so, it will benefit Caldwell County and the Sheriff's Office as a whole. It will assist in reducing agency turnover, complaints, misconduct and internal investigations involving officers and staff which can plague an agency. As we know law enforcement officers are human and will make mistakes, however, they are to be held to a higher standard and will be accountable for their actions. There will be no excuses for unnecessary actions on behalf of those members of the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office. Once again, you will not change what you tolerate. The responsibility ultimately falls back to the Sheriff. An agency headed by Lance Wilson will always strive to do what is right. Integrity should be a core value of all agencies. In some cases it is on paper but does not turn out to be that way. A standard has to be implemented and it begins with me.

2- Morale Morale is one of the single most important factors to be dealt with if an agency is going to be successful. When morale is up employees are more productive, use less sick time, and are less likely to leave even if offered more money elsewhere. A current trend in law enforcement and in our Sheriff's Office is officers moving from agency to agency for various reasons which in turn add to the high turnover rate. Not only with the high turnover rate but with low morale comes absenteeism, low productivity and civil liability. I will address this issue to the fullest by creating morale in our Sheriff's Office. Poor morale issues severely damage an agency, cost untold expenses, and hurt its ability to provide effective service to the community. Studies have shown organizational issues that directly impact morale is administrator related, poor communication, unfair and inconsistent discipline, and supervisory politics.

Organizational stress, as opposed to operational stress, is the main cause of stress and morale issues among law enforcement professionals. Reducing organizational stress, thereby improving morale, is a positive legacy.

Recognizing and working to correct the organizational problems within an agency and improving morale should be a goal of every administrator because of the potential impacts on the law enforcement professionals and the communities in which they serve.

This is a goal of Lance Wilson. I will create the highest of morale in our Sheriff's Office so our members will be healthier, less stressed and more productive so we can better serve the citizens of Caldwell County.

3- Motivation The third step in the phase one of the New Beginning platform is motivation. For those who know Lance Wilson, they know he is a man of service and self-motivation. He is a true servant and serves others. In the law enforcement profession leaders should serve their officers and the citizenry. For many years, they have lead by the power of position and pride. I say this not to blame anyone. It is part of the culture we live and work in. Go up in rank and be something instead of doing and accomplishing something much more powerful than self. The community and officer suffer do to this self-centered leadership.

Fellow men and women of the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office and citizens of Caldwell County, I will lead by the power of influence and inspiration which creates motivation.

Inspired law enforcement leaders are servants that lead daily by continually interacting and engaging their people and the community all in an effort to energize encourage and exhort people so they can have a positive impact. I will do just that as I am a servant. I will serve others and I will lead by teaching and instilling in others to serve others. Phase one will be a continuing process.

PHASE TWO - Implementation

The implementation phase will be a continuing process as well. Our “New Beginning” platform is exactly what it says, “A New Beginning.” It is time for a different style of law enforcement service in Caldwell County and it begins with me. As mentioned before we have a plan which will create.

1- Personnel Position creation is a must at the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office. Creating positions will do a number of things for the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office and the county. Most importantly, it will make everyone safer and it will assist in a reduction of the crime index rate in our county as shown below: The total or overall crime index is on the increase in Caldwell County. Data trends indicate the index will continue to increase. We must be more active in our communities, utilize all resources possible and become more aggressive toward fighting crime in order to reduce these numbers. We are looking at a nearly 4 percent increase (3.732%) in overall crime according to the crime index in Caldwell County from 2010-2011. 2012 crime statistics are not available as they have not been released. Property crime in Caldwell County has risen. Property crimes are up 4.409 percent from 2010-2011.

Excluding year 2012 as crime data has not been released, from year 2007 to year 2011, the overall crime index in Caldwell County has increased 13.025 percent. Property crime index rate has increased 14.487 percent during the same time period.

As we can see through statistical data, creating personnel and presence of uniformed officers will not only assist in reduction of crime and keep our citizens safer but it will also benefit the men and women who serve. It seems for many years the road deputies have worked shorthanded. It is time to implement a plan to create more presence of uniformed officers. Through utilizing numerous resources to include federal and state government programs and by making appropriate contacts, the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office and our county will benefit by adding additional positions to better serve and protect the citizens of Caldwell County. We will constantly and thoroughly search for funded grants in order to accomplish this part. It is being done in neighboring counties so why can it not be done here. It will take partnership with state and federal entities and approval by county officials to complete this common process amongst law enforcement agencies. Once again, funding is available; however, after many years our office has not taken advantage of this process. I have much needed funding and budget experience in this field. The traffic enforcement funded grant program (2003-2007) with the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program established during my tenure there disbanded shortly after my departure. We must mend these fences and start “New.”

Additionally, I also plan to organize satellite offices in various areas of the county. Deputies and other personnel will be able to go to the various offices in the county and conduct business while remaining in the various communities instead of driving back to the Sheriff’s Office. If a call comes out in a specific area, the deputy will be closer which will reduce response time and benefit the victim. We will work in partnership with various communities and areas within the county and emergency service agencies to successfully complete this plan.

2- Programs Program creation is a vital part of an agency or organization. The DARE (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) program is a beneficial program to assist our children in the field of drug awareness and has been around and successful for many years. There are numerous programs various agencies are implementing to assist in crime fighting. We must aggressively pursue this course of action as well. I will implement new programs as your Sheriff which will benefit children, seniors, and middle age alike. I also plan to create programs in the schools, churches, and businesses. If additional funding is needed for these programs, I will put the right personnel in place for the application purposes of state and federal grants. The following are prospective programs which fall under the program implementation phase: Safer Schools Program, G.R.E.A.T. Gang Resistance Education Awareness Training, Crime Prevention Program, Seniors Program, Project Lifesaver, Safe Churches Program, Safe Kids Caldwell County, Bike and Gun Safety Program

3- Additional Plans I have numerous other ideas and positive plans to implement within the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office. Most importantly, we must start by reducing unnecessary spending in order to succeed and implement these plans. The additional plans will vastly benefit various divisions in the department to include the Detention Center, Reserves, Patrol, Investigations and Support Services.

Through valuable resources and contacts, I also have plans to add other specialized units within our Sheriff’s Office which will assist in reducing crime and fighting the drug problem in our county. These various plans to be implemented will strongly benefit our agency, our communities and our county. Training will also be a concentrated area in our agency as will unification of all other agencies in Caldwell County to include law enforcement agencies, fire departments, EMS and rescue. These are just a few of the ideas of the New Beginning platform listed at this time.

Through the actions of the "New Beginning" platform, we will improve effectiveness with second to none standards and provide an elite quality of law enforcement service and protection in Caldwell County Sheriff and as Caldwell County Sheriff, your Voice of Truth, I will lead Caldwell County into a New Beginning.