Meet the New Sheriff

DAYTON

- If this year's National

Night Out at the Dayton City Park sounds like business as usual, it's true for the most part.

About 1,000 people, al­most half Dayton's popula­tion, are expected to turn out next Tuesday, Aug. 6, for the anti-crime, anti-drug event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch and local law enforcement. Between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., some 40 exhibits will be on hand on the park lawn. There will be food, prizes and a movie as in years past.

But one important aspect of the big community event will be different this year. For many Columbia County residents, this will be their first chance to meet their new sheriff.

Rocky Miller, the former state patrol officer who was appointed Sheriff in April, was sworn in during a low- key ceremony just before tak­ing over from Walt Hessler as the top law enforcement of­ficial in the county on July 1.

On the one hand, Miller said he won't use National Night Out as a stump and he isn't scheduling a speech during the event. But on the other hand, you may catch him talking up a new idea he wants to try in this com­munity: a citizens' advisory board.

"It hasn't been tried in this county as far as know," he said in an interview Monday. "If I can flesh out the idea a bit more before next week, that may be a possibility."

That possibility is talking to people informally about exploring more citizen input and partnerships. What bet­ter than an event focused on, among other things, "gen­erating support for and par­ticipation in local anti-crime efforts," according to a state­ment from the organizers?

More community partici­pation may become a corner­stone of his vision as sheriff, Miller said, out of necessity more than anything.

Columbia County, with a population in excess of 4,000, has just five sheriff's deputies. Given that ratio, "we can't solve all the crime in Columbia County without citizens' help," he said.

Miller also views a citi­zens' advisory board as an intermediary between police and residents who might oth­erwise be reluctant to share tips or leads.

"Some people see the gun and badge and might be intimidated," he said. "This could be another avenue" for good feedback, constructive criticism or information that helps solve local crime, most of which Miller said is driven by drug abuse and domestic disputes.

According to a 2012 study of six western countries including the United States, citizens want to help prevent and fight crime but they also want greater access to infor­mation.

The study conducted by the accounting group Accen­ture found that 88 percent of the 1,300 citizens surveyed said they believe they are important participants in fighting crime, specifically citing that reporting crimes is a key role for citizens in police services.

However, the majority (84 percent) of citizens surveyed felt only minimally informed of local police activities. About 71 percent of the re­spondents said they would be more inclined to share their information with law enforcement if they could do so anonymously.

National Night event co­ordinator Tim Quigg said Tuesday's community eve­ning in the park is one of the ways law enforcement agen­cies throughout the country share information with citi­zens about their activities in general. And it's not just for county residents, he said.

"It's not a Dayton or Columbia County-specific thing," Quigg noted. "The Waitsburg Ambulance will be there and if other residents from the valley want to join us, they are more than wel­come."