Outlying developments stretch sheriff thin

Friday, January 28, 2011

by Brian S. Orban

When he became the Elmore County sheriff more than 20 years ago, Rick Layher accepted the fact that not every emergency was within easy reach. On a given day, his deputies could respond to an emergency on the southern edge of the county then head north into the mountains for another.

If the roads are clear and his deputies nearby, they can reach the scene in a matter of minutes. But when the weather turns sour, the roads get nasty and his people are patrolling the other side of Elmore County, he knows all too well that it could take them hours to get to someone in peril. It's a fact that prompted the county to assign two of its 14 full time deputies to this part of the county.

As the county's top law enforcement agency providing coverage of an area spanning 3,000 square miles, it becomes a bit of a challenge balancing public safety and his department's limited resources, according to Layher. With the county's population expected to continue growing in coming years, the department is also pondering how it will provide law enforcement for all these extra people.

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If the county population increases, doesn't that increase tax revenue to hire more deputies ect?

-- Posted by uncommon sense on Fri, Jan 28, 2011, at 9:37 AM
Heaven forbid we allow more buisnesses into the area to gain more population too. More buisnesses will mean more taxes too. If they would plan for a small industrial area in this new section of elmore county like near the firework warehouse, then that too could help off set the costs.

-- Posted by jrhkuna on Sat, Jan 29, 2011, at 8:43 AM
I was a deputy in Custer County. This is the 3rd largest county in the state. We patrolled it with 5 deputies. BUT, we also had a police officer in Challis (at the time), a police officer in Stanley, 2 Forest Service Patrol officers, a State Police officer, and 4 Fish and Game officers.

Rick has all his deputies, a BLM Ranger, Forest Service patrol officer, 3 State Police officers and several Fish and Game officers. Don't buy into the story that he is spread thin. I agree that there are few officers to patrol a large area but not totally undoable.

IF the Mayfield area gets developed I'm sure they will either 1) Hire their own police force OR 2) Contract with the county for resident deputies. A city larger than Mtn Home would require a constant police presence as well as a Fire Dept and Ambulance substation. It's all called INFRASTRUCTURE and needs to be addressed during the public hearings.

-- Posted by mhbouncer on Sat, Jan 29, 2011, at 12:09 PM
This Co. has more than enough cops, I see them all the time, parked at their houses or on the side of the road waiting to ticket someone...

-- Posted by Moanah on Sun, Jan 30, 2011, at 10:29 PM

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