Less human error

Since Seneca County Sheriff Fred Stevens took over the position, the office has experienced many changes at the hands of its new leader. At the start of Stevens' third year, he is looking to have more done around the office which includes jail improvements and upgrades. For the jail side of things, he is looking to implement a GED and workforce program, which educates inmates and helps them find work after they are released. Last year, Stevens announced the infancy stage of a collaborative effort between the sheriff's department and Fostoria Learning Center. The jail caseworker has volunteered to take on the program which will work to ensure that services that were stopped post-COVID are continued to be provided. Stevens mentioned that since the Seneca County Commissioners have an abundance of iPads due to the Board of Elections getting upgrades, the sheriff's office received 10 of them. Those iPads will go out to a couple of areas in the sheriff's office and eight of them will go to the GED program. The iPads present an alternative to sit-down classrooms and will only be used for Fostoria Learning Center and GED programs. The iPads will be monitored as well. Stevens will also continue the painting and repair process in the jail. "We're handling the big projects with grants," Stevens explained. "We use the work crew and go pod by pod and have done 3-4 so far." He said that another third of the jail pods will be repaired and repainted in the winter. "We move the inmates to a different pod, strip the room from ceiling to floor, clean, paint and fix any issues in the pod. The best time to get these done is in the winter since the work crew is out in the public from April – October Other times they are used for kitchen work and clean up." Each pod takes about two months between all of the work and then getting out the paint fumes before inmates are moved back in. Stevens hopes that all pods have been worked on by January 2024. He also said that the sally port will be repainted in winter. "That's your entrance, you want to make a good impression." Stevens is also continuing to update jail policies and plans to have all of them updated and looked over by August of this year. The sheriff's office is also in the process of becoming Ohio Collaborative certified. To do this, the department is in the process of obtaining all the policies to fit certification status. Another focus for the sheriff's office is updating the vehicle fleet. Through the Seneca County Commissioners, the office has been able to get more vehicles. "We got rid of six disabled vehicles at about $600-$700 a piece at local junkyards." Stevens is also working with the commissioners to update the office's manpower. He is looking to fill school resource officer positions and replace a few retirements. Also, in tandem with the commissioners, the office is working to update its technology and has been updating computers some of which are up to 10 years old. The office is also updating software and is implementing Cellchek, which provides a human response to paper logs, according to Stevens. "There is software and hardware that comes with Cellchek. Corrections officers will have sticks to hit buttons throughout the jail. That will provide timestamps for when each part of the jail is checked. The program will help with audits and inspections. It will also help with fewer human errors. The more technology we have, the fewer human errors there are." The sheriff's office will also continue to attend community engagement at schools, community events and take advantage of more community events. "The more we do community outreach, the better understanding the community has of us and we have of the community. It doesn't need to be separate."