Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith

Certain positions at the Smith County Sheriff’s Office have been reclassified after action by the Smith County Commissioners Court.

At its special-called meeting Monday morning, the court heard from representatives of the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, including Sheriff Larry Smith, about what they called necessary changes that are needed to improve operations and staffing issues.

One of the changes unanimously approved by the court is reclassifying a Deputy I basic position to that of Investigator I, Grade Level 303. This reclassification will help address gang-related shootings in Smith County, said Smith.

Smith said there is “an ongoing war” between two local gangs within Smith County that has resulted in seven or eight shootings in the last two months.

“We need to have someone to identify gang members coming into jail,” Smith said. “… They need to have the demeanor and education of an investigator to look through gang-related affiliations.”

The purpose would be to cut down communication going in and out of the jail.

“It’s not very prudent to not be able to identify those and put them in the same cell or tank,” Smith said.

Additionally, this reclassification will allow Texas Anti-Gang with their investigations.

Smith said an officer has already been identified for this position, and it is a deputy who has 12-plus years of experience, is bilingual, and has a bachelor’s degree. The budgetary impact for the county will be about $8,000, Smith said.

Judge Neal Franklin expressed concern about spending additional money that was not originally budgeted for in this current budget year. Smith said the available candidate and a current ongoing investigation make the matter urgent.

“… This is a dire need at this time to be able to identify the people coming in and out of this facility,” Smith said.

Because Smith needed to share more details relating to jail security matters in regards to this agenda item, the court went into executive session to discuss this move before approving it in open session.

“It’s the same scenario that we run into a lot of times when we find the right person for the job,” Franklin said. “This looks like it — this person has a lot of experience, bachelor’s degree … I’m convinced this is the right move to make at this time.”

Another position the court approved reclassifying was moving a detention officer to be that of jail lieutenant. The move, which will have an impact of about $23,000 on the county, was approved unanimously.

Smith said a candidate has also already been identified for this position, which is the reason the sheriff’s department had a sense of urgency when bringing the request to the court. If this person isn’t hired, Smith said the county would miss out on something that could bring a lot of value to the jail by bettering its staffing issues and save money in the long run.

The jail lieutenant will be responsible for teaching state-mandated jail training, monitor new officers, teach orientation for new hires, follow-up to ensure officers are progressing with the program, and more.

Chief Deputy Gary Pinkerton said this position will allow the jail to form its own training academy, led by the jail lieutenant as a training director.

“As you know we’ve had some turnovers at the jail… with that and being faced with COVID, it is time for us to be more proactive and form our own academy,” Pinkerton said.

This will allow the training to be in-house as opposed to sending trainees to jail school in Kilgore. Plus, officers will benefit from learning under the same roof of the jail where they’ll be working after they finish their jail school hours, Pinkerton and Smith said.

According to Pinkerton, having the state-mandated training at the jail would not only be cost effective, but it would also help with staffing issues at the jail.

According to Smith County Pct. 1 Commissioner Pam Frederick, this has been a vision the sheriff’s office has been working on for quite some time.

“This is not some flash in the pan idea,” said Commissioner of Precinct 1 Pam Frederick. “Sheriff has had this vision for a while.”

Again, Smith said it came before the court Monday due to an exemplary candidate the sheriff’s office has the opportunity to hire now.

The commissioners unanimously voted to approve the action.

The commissioners also voted to reclassify a polygraph examiner position to that of law enforcement sergeant (office of professional responsibility). Smith County Chief Deputy Robert Carlson spoke to the court and said the current position is unable to maintain all of the demands of that office. It has 400 employees, investigates law and policy violations, and is vital to maintaining the integrity of the sheriff’s office.

The position has been vacant since August due to the death of the Jackie Grier, who held the position.

The move will have up to a $14,000 budgetary impact on the county, but Carlson said since the position has been vacant since August shortly before the fiscal year started, that money is already available.

The commissioners unanimously approved the reclassification.

The commissioners also unanimously voted to approve the replat of a Parkview Addition, Lot 7 Precinct 3, turning one lot into two lots.

Also at the meeting, commissioners adopted a resolution proclaiming Saturday, Jan. 14 as “Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Day” in Smith County in recognition of the organization’s 115th anniversary. Former commissioner JoAnn Hampton was among those in attendance for the recognition.