By Patrick McCreless
Many changes are in store for Cullman County law enforcement if Jackie Wilhite has his way.
Wilhite, 32, recently announced his intention to run for sheriff of Cullman County on the Republican ticket. Sheriff Tyler Roden recently announced his plan to run for re-election as a Democrat.
“Mr. Roden has been in there going on 16 years,” Wilhite said. “It’s become stale. Crime statistics from thefts to burglaries and drugs ... there has been no decrease hardly whatsoever from year to year. I think the plans I have, if put in place, would show a dramatic change.”
A graduate of Cullman High School, Wilhite has nearly 10 years of experience in law enforcement, including the last two years as a Cullman County Sheriff’s deputy. To Wilhite, there was little doubt in his mind growing up that he would enter law enforcement.
“It was a calling, I guess,” Wilhite said. “Beginning real young, I would always say I would be in law enforcement.”
However, Wilhite is currently out of law enforcement and instead co-owns the trucking company, Cullman Express, with his father.
“It was basically the money,” Wilhite said of his decision to leave the sheriff’s office. “Back then the pay was so low, it was hard to support a family and children on that.”
Wilhite and his wife Ashley have three children.
Wilhite said he wants to re-enter law enforcement, however, due to changes he says are needed at the sheriff’s office.
“I feel like Cullman is at a crossroads,” he said.
Among the changes Wilhite would like to implement is a greater focus on fighting the war on drugs.
“What I plan on doing is creating a criminal enforcement unit,” Wilhite said. “It would be four to five guys highly trained in drug seizures and conducting search warrants. They would get out and work the county every day.”
While listening to people in the community, Wilhite said he has heard many complaints about the response time of patrol deputies.
Wilhite said he would keep the sheriff office’s east and west field offices, located in Good Hope and Baileyton. However, under his direction, the patrol deputies in each office would pool their resources when needed.
If east side deputies were swamped with calls and the west side was relatively quiet, west side deputies would go out and help the east side, Wilhite said.
Another change Wilhite would make would be in regards to the jail food budget. According to state law, sheriffs are given money to feed inmates each month and are allowed to keep whatever is not spent. Typically as a rule, sheriffs throughout the state have refused to reveal how much money they acquire each year because of the law.
“That kind of irritates me that you can’t find out how much that is ... it’s taxpayers’ money,” Wilhite said. “It’s set aside for prisoners. If I get in, that is what it will be used for. Any left over, I will put back into the sheriff’s office.”
Wilhite also has plans for the sheriff office’s investigations department.
“There will be a night shift investigator on duty that can go out and follow up after a theft or burglary and can speak with citizens,” Wilhite said. “After the first 48 hours, if you don’t find the property by then, it’s very rare you ever recover it.”
In addition, Wilhite said he would pull investigators out of the sheriff office’s district offices and station them all in one place.
“I’ll pool them together in one place again so they can talk about cases,” he said.
Wilhite welcomes any citizen with questions or comments to contact him on his cell phone at 736-4313.
‰ Patrick McCreless can be reached by e-mail at patrickm@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.
