GLASGOW, W.Va. — The eastern Kanawha County town of Glasgow is having a hard time fielding a team of law enforcement officers.
Mayor Don Fannin discussed the issue this week with Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford and the two came to an arrangement to insure patrols and law enforcement security in the town.
“Like a lot of police agencies, they’re having trouble getting qualified officers. So we’ve entered into an agreement with them that we will provide deputies at certain hours of the day seven days a week,” said Rutherford.
The agreement isn’t just for patrols, but Glasgow will supplement the cost of those patrols in the small community.
“The city has a $20 public safety fee and they’ll be reimbursing the county for our deputies being in that particular town We’ll increase our patrols even after the hours we’re there, because they have no police officers,” the sheriff said.
This agreement is flexible and temporary at this time, and adjustments will be made to the schedules and assignments as the Town of Glasgow and Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office receive feedback and monitor the program. The program will start Nov. 1.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office has for years been operating a unit called the East City Patrol. The deputies assigned to that unit specifically answer 911 calls in the cities along the Kanawha River east of Charleston when those cities do not have their own police officers on-duty. A deputy Sheriff on East City Patrol often attends functions in those cities like neighborhood watches and city council meetings, as well, to better understand the local law enforcement needs. This dialogue fosters a relationship between our Law Enforcement Deputies, local governments, and the citizens they all serve.
Rutherford said however, this is a different arrangement and a first of its kind in which a town actually pays the department for specific patrolling and police work in the city limits.
“We cooperate with all of the cities when requested and often try to handle the urgent and calls in progress. This is the first time we’ve ever had a Memorandum of Understanding to actually have deputies within the city during certain hours of the day and night,” he said.