Moving Forward

September is on the way out and while on patrol we see farmers harvesting their crops, hunters anxious for approaching seasons, and many people preparing their homes and yards for winter. Each of us has task lists and for some of us that list never gets any smaller and only seems to grow.

With roughly 538 square miles in Livingston County we have a total of 7 road deputies and the sheriff providing law enforcement services. We are constantly challenged to handle the many investigations, calls for service, arrests and detainee matters, bailiff Court, serve all the subpoenas, summons, protection orders, evictions, garnishments, divorce papers, law suits, and other court orders which come through our office. It never fails when we are in Chula the next call for service is in Ludlow or vice versa.

In criminal investigations it often takes significant time to identify, locate, and contact prospective witnesses or persons of interest. Most times we do not get to talk with people on the first attempt to contact. With criminal cases we often interview and then collect a signed statement from these people in attempt to present the whole story to the prosecuting attorney for review (of course there are some who refuse to talk or give statements and some who completely avoid us). It takes additional time to collect and process evidence, send it to Macon or Jeff City to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Lab, and then reduce all this into a detailed and accurate report. Just as we may be in Chula and get a call in Ludlow, we seldom have time to complete a case without first going on several other calls, handling Court, receive multiple phone calls about other issues, or investigate other crimes. We still take time to make certain officer safety and other criminal information is shared with other agencies.

On another note of progress, I do want to share with you how impressed I am with Livingston County Presiding Commissioner Ed Douglas. In the first 9 months in office, Mr. Douglas has done an outstanding job and has only further advanced the level of professionalism in the Office of County Commissioner (and not just in Livingston County).

Mr. Douglas is extremely knowledgeable and his leadership skills have already been displayed many times over. Commissioner Douglas has taken a serious view at all levels of County government and analyzed they ways and means of why certain things are done. Mr. Douglas has spent time with most or all of the county elected officials and has digested much of what each office is committed to. Mr. Douglas has researched the funding sources of many Missouri counties and has analyzed many of our strengths and weaknesses as compared to other counties/cities.

Recently we attended a meeting at the Chillicothe Department of Emergency Services which Mr. Douglas led in gathering officials from several area counties/cities to discuss, learn, share information and explore 911/ dispatching services that may benefit all entities.

After attending Missouri Sheriffs’ Association Conference in August and talking with the other sheriffs I can gladly say it is a pleasure to live and work in Livingston County. In our county we are surrounded by many good and kind people while in our office we have a great group of employees that truly care about this community and the job they do.

Remember we are only here to help you, your family, and your friends. Thank you for your continued support.

Be safe,

Steve Cox