Academy Graduation

Date: January 3rd, 2013

New recruits graduate from the academy

New Goochland County Sheriff's Deputies (Deputy Glimp and Deputy Miller) graduated from the
Rappahanock Regional Criminal Justice Academy in December of 2012. Each graduate will now be required
to complete field training where they will be paired up with a veteran officer for several months of on-the-job training.

(Deputy Morgan Glimp, Deputy Nathan Miller)

New deputies hit the street

Date: June 21st, 2012

Sheriff Agnew with new academy graduates Deputy Donithan and Deputy Wood.

Upcoming Event

Date: May 14th, 2012

Click It or Ticket to Boost Seat Belt Use – Day and Night

Goochland County motorists who refuse to wear their seat belts-beware. The 2012 national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization kicks off May 21 to help save lives by cracking down on those who don’t buckle up.

The Goochland County Sheriff’s Office is joining with other state and local law enforcement officers and highway safety advocates across the country to help save more lives by strongly enforcing all traffic laws, especially seat belt laws around the clock.

While Virginia’s seat belt use rate increased slightly to 81.8% up from 80.5% in 2010, there is still much work to be done. According to the DMV Highway Safety Office’s TREDS (Traffic Records Electronic Data System) in preliminary 2011 statistics, there were a total of 765 fatalities-306 of them were unrestrained at the time of the crash. Of the total unrestrained fatalities (306), 93 or 30.39% of them were between the hours of Midnight-6:00AM with 69.89% or 65 of those 93 between midnight and 3:00AM.

Regular seat belt use saves thousands of lives across Virginia each year. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that in 2010 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 272 lives in Virginia. An additional 112 lives could be saved with 100 percent seat belt use.

While this year’s Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization runs from May 21 through June 3, motorists should know that officers are out enforcing traffic laws, including seat belt laws year-round.

Sheriff's Office Receives 4th Award

Date: May 1st, 2012

Sheriff Agnew and Lieutenant Pleasants accept the agency's 4th State Accreditation award at the Goochland County Board of Supervisor's meeting.

Neighborhood Watch Tip

Date: March 27th, 2012

BURGLARIES BY TRAVELING CON ARTISTS

Every spring and summer in Central Virginia, we see a significant rise in burglaries perpetrated by means of “Traveler” scams.

The term “Travelers” refer to people who travel in small groups across the country perpetrating crimes of theft, burglary, and fraud. Regardless of the term(s) used to describe these individuals, they are simply organized criminal groups who are looking to victimize and steal.

Suspects have many different ruses to accomplish their goal. Typically they pose as utility company employees, home repair contractors, and salespeople in order to gain entry into a home. They do this by means of a bogus sales pitch or other misrepresentation. Another approach that is taken is to locate a victim outside of their home and keep their attention diverted. Once the diversion is set in either scenario, accomplices will enter the house to search for and steal money, jewelry, and prescription medications.

These scams occur in daylight hours and the elderly are often the targets, but ANYONE can be a victim in these schemes. These predators exploit people's trust and compassion and have very convincing cover stories. The suspects are usually males who operate in groups of two to five people, but these groups can include females.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

The best way to keep these individuals from victimizing you is to simply keep your home locked, even when you are working in the yard.
Don’t allow unsolicited workers or sales people into your home.
If you observe suspicious persons in your area, or suspect something just isn't right, then call the police. Look closely at suspicious persons so you can later provide officers with a description of them. Obtain vehicle license numbers and as many other details as you can.
Educate elderly family members on how to identify these scams to prevent them from occurring and what they should do if they do occur. If they do become a victim, don’t blame them.

Safety Tip

Date: March 2nd, 2012

Travel Safety Tips in Severe Weather Conditions

Americans live in the most severe weather-prone country on Earth. Each year, we cope with an average of 10,000 thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, 1,000 tornadoes, and an average of 2 land falling deadly hurricanes.

When you are caught in bad weather, to make it to your destination safely, be sure to…

Slow down for weather and road conditions.
Be watchful for fallen trees, power lines, debris and other hazards.
Never drive through high or standing water covering a roadway.
If you encounter a flooded roadway, turn around and find another route.
Add extra time to reach travel destination.
Increase driving distances between vehicles.
Buckle up and don’t drive distracted.

State law requires headlights to be on when windshield wipers are in use.

Be Prepared! Develop a plan before severe weather strikes. The following list of websites can help by providing valuable tips and information:

http://www.vaemergency.com/
http://www.ready.gov/
http://www.redcross.org/
http://www.511virginia.org/
http://www.stormready.noaa.gov/