Jan. 17—Morgan County sheriff’s deputies were more proactive in 2024 with a 32% increase in calls for service compared to the previous year, while call volume to Morgan County 911 for countywide agency responses remained steady.
“We focused on being more proactive, so our traffic stops, which is where we come across a lot of people with warrants … a lot of time that leads to finding other stuff,” said Morgan County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Mike Swafford.
The Sheriff’s Office was called for service 32,219 times in 2024, up from 24,346 in 2023, according to Swafford.
“This was driven by an increase in ‘check well-being’ calls,” Swafford said. “It can be a multitude of things. You know, you haven’t seen your neighbor in four days, she’s a little old lady, and you’re concerned about them and want to make sure nothing’s gone wrong. We come out and see if she’s OK, if there are any signs of anything, can we reach them.”
Swafford said deputies responded to 668 such calls last year.
Morgan County deputies also responded to 403 domestic violence-related calls in 2024, up from 312 the previous year. Intoxicated driver calls were up 21% at 79 reports, while drug overdose calls almost doubled to 63.
Deputies also responded to 31 missing persons, 17 runaway juveniles and 53 stolen vehicles.
Swafford said deputies conducted nearly 11,000 extra patrols and drove 2.8 million miles. There were 4,257 traffic stops in 2024, up from 2,686.
“I’ve made a commitment to stay proactive,” Sheriff Ron Puckett said. “That’s what the citizens asked for, and that’s what we’ve focused on in 2024, and we think it’s made a difference.”
Swafford, who’s still compiling some of last year’s data, said he believes the sheriff’s initiative has helped bring down numbers for other crimes.
“Property crime and violent crime are down, and we really think that is kind of affected by the traffic stops,” Swafford said. He said property crime was down 14% and violent crime was down 24%.
Morgan County 911, which handles emergency dispatch for law enforcement, fire and medical countywide, saw a slight increase in 911 calls at 60,804 last year.
Non-emergency calls also increased slightly, while outgoing calls and hang ups decreased. Total incoming call volume last year was 172,494 compared to 170,448 the previous year.
Dispatchers averaged 167 emergency calls per day and nearly 300 non-emergency calls per day.
“Even though our call volume is not down, our calls are still being answered within what the national standards are, which is 90% of calls within 10 seconds or less. We’re at around 92%,” Morgan County 911 Director Jeanie Pharis said.
“Those outgoing calls … it could be anything from us returning our ‘hang up’ calls, to us making a phone call for a citizen or an officer or a tow truck. Our ‘hang up’ calls are down this year. The rest of our numbers are fairly consistent.”
Pharis said “hang ups,” which decreased from 7,599 to 5,787 last year, can take a considerable amount of time away from dispatchers, as they are obligated to call or text the number back.
“If you accidentally dial 911, don’t just hang up,” Pharis said. “We would rather you stay on the line and say, ‘Hey, I’m sorry I accidentally dialed,’ than to hang up on us. That actually saves us a lot of time.”
Pharis said more than 65% of the county’s calls were law-enforcement related. 3% were fire only — not including medical calls where firefighters were dispatched. Fourteen percent of calls were medical.
— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.