Law Enforcement Committee Meets

The Law Enforcement Committee held its quarterly meeting on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at the Fairbury City Offices, where Jefferson County Sheriff Nick Georgi provided an update to city officials.The Sheriff’s Office currently provides law enforcement services for the City of Fairbury.Of particular note was the return of National Night Out, an annual nationwide community-building campaign that involves first responders, including law enforcement, ambulance, fire departments and others, intended to promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie.This is the first National Night Out in two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Sheriff Georgi said, “We did it three years and then COVID hit and no one did it. So, this year, I started it back up. It's just a night for anyone in the community, kids, to come out, meet all the first responders, sheriff's, fire, EMS, Game and Parks, State Patrol, StarCare, and it's just a couple of hours of fun.”The event will be held on Tuesday, August 2, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the Community Center parking lot, in the Fairbury City Park.One of the highlights of the night is expected to be a StarCare helicopter, used for emergency medical transportation, which will land at the soccer fields. Sheriff Georgi said, “We got first in line. There was quite a few (law enforcement departments holding National Night Out) that requested them but we called right away.”However, Georgi warned the helicopter will only be there if not on a call.Georgi also provided some data about the workload since the Sheriff’s office took over handling duties for the city.According to the Sheriff, for the year 2021, the Sheriff’s Office took 3,401 calls for service. Of those calls, 2,270 were within the City of Fairbury and 1,065 for the rest of Jefferson County.In 2020, the Sheriff’s Office took 3,296 calls and in 2019, they took 3,802 calls.The Sheriff discussed staffing, which has been an ongoing issue for both private and public employers, “We’re really short right now. So, we're getting out as much as we can. We're short, well, five vacancies, and six if you count the one guy we have in the academy right now. So, he'll be done in August.”However, Georgi indicated there has been an increased interest in those open positions since the recent wage increases, “One guy, certified guy, he'll be starting on the seventh. So that'll put us down to four. And then we have potentially one more certified guy applying and four guys in testings.”Despite the open positions, Georgi stressed, “So yeah, we're running short, but we're still doing 24/7 coverage for the city and the county.”

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