Drug arrests rise 175 percent in Rabun County

RABUN COUNTY Since Rabun County Sheriff Chad Nichols has been elected to his position in November 2016, the crime level has plummeted and the number of drug arrests skyrocketed.

He said ever since his campaign began nearly two years ago, emphasizing the eradication of drugs in Rabun County has always been on the forefront of his agenda.

“From listening to people before I took office, drugs, of course, was on everyone’s mind. I made it a priority and since then, the drug arrests have gone up by 175 percent from last year,” Nichols said.

According to the most recently released 2017 report log from the sheriff’s office, deputies along with the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office (ARDEO) through investigation and interdicting drug dealers, nearly tripled the number of arrests in one years time 64 in 2016 to 176 in 2017.  

“It’s what the public wanted to see,” Nichols said of his triumphs. “I’m a resident here too. I wanted to make an impact and I think we did. It’s from the hard work of our deputies out here on patrol, to our ground agents and to the community. The community gives us tips on a lot of things so they play a huge role in those impactful results to drug enforcement.”

In other accomplishments from the sheriff’s office, patrol division responded to a total of 7,812 calls dispatched through Rabun County 911.  Additionally, sheriff’s deputies completed 1,383 incident reports, 294 accident reports, issued 443 citations along with 575 warnings. Deputies provided services such as 443 vehicle unlocks, 1,058 business checks and responded to 545 business/residential alarms. Deputies also patrolled to prevent crime in Rabun County, patrolling 226,261 miles for the year.  

The criminal investigations division also proved to be steadily busy when they were assigned 259 cases with 189 cases ultimately being resolved, for 73 percent resolution of 2017 activity. Also, the jail division processed 1,553 people through the adult detention facility. The average daily population of inmates housed in the Rabun County Detention Center was 96 inmates. Since May, when records started being kept the jail, division transported 420 inmates to court and transported 40 people to a mental health facility for treatment.

The courthouse security division provided security for 214 sessions of court and provided security for 18 Commissioners Meetings/Planning and Zoning Meetings. In May, deputies started keeping track of the number of visitors coming into the courthouse and then, there has been a total of 20,392 people. The deputy assigned to serving civil processes served 1,143 civil papers.  

The sheriff’s office has also focused on participating in community events such as the Rabun County High School (RCHS) Career Fair, volunteering with Special Olympics and also the Teen Maze Program at RCHS.