Drugs and general safety highlight Sheriff’s report

In 2017, Oconee sheriff’s officers carried out three drug sweeps. The sheriff’s office also collected 233 pounds of prescription pills in its takeback program. All deputies were trained and equipped with Narcan, the drug that reverses opioid overdoses. Part of Sheriff Mike Crenshaw’s 2017 summary reflects heightened efforts to increase public safety in the first year following the Townville school shootings. The Sheriff’s Office started training for high school seniors in situational and personal safety circumstances. It also hosted a tactical dispatch class to increase safety. Crimes kept county officers busy. There were three homicides, 10 attempted murders, 20 death investigations, 17 robberies, 10 arsons, and 459 burglaries. The average daily inmate count at the jail was 165, compared with 168 in 2016. 2017 was the fifth year in office for the second term sheriff.