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Great New Books on Organizing:

by Helen Witt

Most of the African-American population shies away from such places as the County Jail and the Sheriff’s office in Amherst County. Not so with two of the members of the Amherst County Chapter of VOP who braved the trip and visited with Amherst County Sheriff Jimmy Ayers.

The visit was for the purpose of having a dialogue with Sheriff Ayers concerning racial profiling by members of his staff. The Amherst Chapter had been informed that, unlike many counties and cities in Virginia, records were being kept by his office which might be helpful to us in ascertaining the extent of the problem and what, if anything, was being done about it.

The visit was not only informative and eye-opening, but tended also to make the members, as residents of Amherst County, feel much safer knowing how intolerant Sheriff Ayers is of any type of racial discrimination practiced by members of his very diverse staff, either within the office or on the road.

The members learned many interesting facts about the operation of the office and Sheriff Ayers’ expectations for the people he hires. Some of these facts are:

• Sheriff Ayers hears few complaints about racial profiling in Amherst County.
• In his seven years in office there have been 1,781 white males, 950 black males, 587 white females and 245 black females arrested by his deputies who answer any and all calls, traffic or otherwise.
• All new recruits get sensitivity training in the academy and again within the law enforcement department within Amherst County.
• Cameras have been purchased (at the cost of $4,000 each) and installed in every one of the 26 police cars owned by the department. Every stop by an officer is recorded and can be used in court as well as by the sheriff if a complaint is made about one of his officers.
• Information on every arrest is computerized using the Incident-Based Reporting System, part of the state’s Uniform Crime Report. The data goes straight to Richmond via the computer.
• There is also a computer-aided dispatch system which keeps track of every stop made by the deputies as well as all phone and radio conversations. A simple software adjustment could be made to track every stop by race. Sheriff Ayers did not feel that this would be burdensome or costly to the county.
• Sheriff Ayers says that he would not tolerate overt displays of racism in the private lives of any of his staff and he has fired four officers for not adhering to the high moral standards placed on them by participating in extramarital affairs.
• Although dramatic cuts have been made in funding by the State Compensation Board in office supplies and vehicle maintenance, it has been made up by the county and there have been no cuts in staff or salaries. Sheriff Ayers’ office actively seeks alternative funding via grants.

As citizens of Amherst County, the members were extremely impressed at the professionalism as well as the lack of tolerance displayed by Sheriff Ayers toward overt acts of racism by his staff in their personal and professional lives. This has also been attested to by several members of his staff. Chapter members were impressed at the upgrading of the department in the areas of technology, facilities and staff during his tenure.

A VOP member said that Sheriff Ayers personally took steps to help her deal with vicious dog incidents, showing how much he is involved with the safety of all citizens in the county.

Members of the Amherst County VOP sleep much better at night knowing that their welfare and safety are in the hands of such a person as Sheriff Jimmy Ayers and recommend him as an example for sheriffs across Virginia to follow.

For additional information, contact Helen Witt at (434) 929-7506 or send e-mail to mshele@lynchburg.net.