Since taking office in January, Habersham County Sheriff Robin Krockum has continued to evaluate the state of his office.
“In the first three months of starting any new job, you want to kind of evaluate operations,” Krockum said. “A lot of times, people will come in and they’ll want to make a lot of changes. I wanted to see what’s working well and what things need to be changed.”
Krockum said one of the first decisions made was rearrangements to personnel, specifically seeing where certain individuals fit in particular positions.
Between jailers, patrol deputies and administrative positions, as of now, Habersham County’s Sheriff’s Office has a total of 105 employees. On Monday, March 31, Krockum said his office is fully-staffed, which was not the case when he started in December, as he’s moved to fill previously vacant spots.
Five of those positions, Krockum said, include school resource officers – bringing that total to 10 people. Going forward, Krockum said he plans to “continue providing the citizens with the best possible service.”
“I try to run a service-oriented agency,” he said. “We service the citizens of Habersham to the best of our ability.”
The jail
The most glaring need within the sheriff’s office continues to be the jail, which is long known to face issues of limited capacity, instances of potential rights violations and an array of obsolescence problems.
Currently, according to Krockum, Habersham County’s Detention Center is again almost at full capacity.
The facility was constructed with a capacity of 130 inmates. Now, with a capacity of 162, Habersham’s jail has 161 incarcerated individuals inside. And that’s not including the 32 who have been transported and booked in surrounding counties like Stephens, Lumpkin, Hall or Rabun, simply because there’s no space for them at the jail there in Clarkesville.
In the years ahead, Krockum said he plans to continue in dialogue with Habersham County’s Commission to push for a new jail, which recent estimates suggest could be around $50-60 million and possibly funded through SPLOST, or Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.
“But I think we could do it for less than that,” Krockum said, adding that problems with the jail are by design – in that it was originally built on landlocked property without the option, structurally, of building upward.
Policy and capacity
In the meantime, with capacity at the jail a growing problem, Krockum said new policies – such as citations for lesser crimes like driving on a suspended license or probation violations – could be something to consider in the future.
The recent loss of two superior court judges – recently-retired Judge Chan Caudell, and the unexpected death of Judge Rusty Smith – in the Mountain Judicial Circuit earlier this year also have contributed to the higher numbers of inmates, Krockum said.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has since appointed Judge Nichole Carswell and Judge Carlton “Hobie” Jones III to fill the two vacancies.
“I think they’re going to do a great job,” Krockum said. “…I look forward to working with them and maybe helping get some of these inmates through the system and out.”
The job
With a nearly 30-year career in law enforcement, Krockum said he’s eager to continue work as sheriff.
“It’s a lot busier than what I thought it would be coming in,” he said. “But I’ve prepared for this position for my entire law enforcement career. I still enjoy it. I look forward to coming to work. I feel honored that the people elected me in this position, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure we provide them the best service possible.”
Over the years, Krockum worked closely with his predecessor, former sheriff Joey Terrell.
Krockum, 52, has a 29-year career in law enforcement – first with the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office before he joined the Demorest Police Department. Krockum went on to lead Alto’s Police Department as chief when it was founded.
He came back to Habersham County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol commander under Terrell in 2009. He then returned to Demorest as police chief in 2016 until his retirement last year amid his bid for sheriff.
