SCSO responds to over 11,400 calls in 2015
by Sublette County Sheriff’s Office
January 4, 2016
Sublette County - An end-of-year report was released by the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office on January 4 and included an overview of the number and nature of calls for service that the county law enforcement responded to. Over 11,400 calls were logged between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015, and range from traffic complaints, VIN inspections and citizen assists, to deaths, DUIs, burglaries, and medical calls.
"Being the only law enforcement entity in the county has some advantages," Sheriff Stephen R. Haskell said. "We aren’t confined to just one role. We have the ability to get to know and help our friends and neighbors as well as enforce criminal and traffic laws."
Sublette County is the only county within the state that does not have any municipal law enforcement agencies in the incorporated towns. Not only are they responsible for all of the calls for service that come in, but the Sheriff is required, by state statute, to maintain a jail. "I think this report gives a good overview of what my patrol officers have been doing for the community, but it leaves off the detention side of things, and that’s 24/7," Sheriff Haskell said.
Other activities over the last year within the office include an upgrade to all of the dispatch equipment to make them WyoLink compatible. This change had been planned for over the last few years, and in order to beat the rush of agencies trying to make the August 2016 deadline, the contract was approved by the commissioners in early 2015 and the installation happened this past fall. "We’ve found a few bugs with the new system," Sheriff Haskell said. "We lost the ability to record phone lines and radio transmissions for about two weeks just after the changeover, but we’ve been working through the issues and continue perfecting the system."
According to the state website, WyoLink is a "statewide digital trunked VHF P-25 compliant public safety communications system designed to coordinate and integrate communications between state, local, and federal public safety agencies." For Sublette County, this means enhanced radio communication in virtually all corners of the county for all emergency service organizations. "It was costly, but the benefit to our emergency personnel with the ability to communicate is priceless," Sheriff Haskell said. "At the end of the day, we have to be able to communicate with dispatch and with each other. That’s the only way we can get the job done."
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