Wood
Cherokee County voters don’t choose a new sheriff until next year, but it’s been one of the most talked about local races ever since Sheriff Derrick Palmer announced he won’t seek a third term.
Realizing the importance of remaining top of mind, Chief Deputy Joe Wood has already begun campaigning for the position. He has thought about serving as sheriff since he first joined the department more than 21 years ago and almost ran for office before his wife, Hope, became ill and passed away in 2017.
Wood – who has served as chief deputy under both a Democratic and Republican sheriff, a feat he described as rare – said he was born to serve this community.
“Commitment to community – that’s a must now for law enforcement,” he told the Cherokee Scout. “The biggest thing I’d like to do is just get our guys into the communities. I was really successful as a regular deputy sheriff by going into a community and getting to know people. That allows you to know who shouldn’t be in that community at 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning.”
The 49-year-old native of Wolf Creek said one of his other main objectives is to implement an organized field training program that mentors detention officers on how to properly perform the job. He also wants to increase the use of local inmates in ways that benefit local government.
“We’re talking with our kitchen provider at the jail to see how much we can reduce costs by growing 500 pounds of potatoes,” Wood said.
He also wants to establish a standards division within the department that will focus on hiring and retention, updating policies and procedures, community outreach and media relations.
“We’ve gotten to that size,” Wood said while comparing the agency’s growth over the years. “That’s good, but it’s kind of sad that we’re getting out of that small-town atmosphere.”
Additionally, Wood wants to find ways to redirect personnel and spend more time in high-crime neighborhoods documenting suspicious activity. He’d also like to train more deputies in the art of investigating cybercrimes and scams.
“The FBI won’t touch it unless it’s [in the six-figure range], so we need to have people that are specifically assigned to those types of crimes,” Wood said. “It’s gotten to that volume.”
Wood said he doesn’t foresee a need to budget for more staff on the payroll, but instead must train the newest staff members to fulfill different roles so he can restructure the department.
“For a sheriff to be successful, he or she must surround themself with quality, committed people,” he said. “The success of a sheriff is not his alone but a result of those he leads. The employees are key; they make the organization. Training and retention are big things we need to work on, and I’ve told that to this sheriff, the prior sheriff and the prior sheriff.”
When asked what’s stopping him from accomplishing these goals while in his current position, Wood said some of them are already in motion and could be completed before the election in 2022.
“I’ve learned something from every sheriff I’ve worked for,” Wood said. “I’ve had the benefit of being chief deputy for two sheriffs, and I think that brings a whole lot to the table.”