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Gilmer County sheriff-elect Stacy Nicholson successfully completed an intense, month-long training program on Friday, Dec. 10. Sheriff Nicholson and 29 other newly-elected sheriffs participated in a formal graduation ceremony at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth.
Georgia’s Attorney General, Thurbert Baker, gave the keynote address and also presented diplomas to the graduates.
The 160-hour curriculum included classroom instruction that taught the new sheriffs their duties as the chief law enforcement officer of their county.
The State Constitution and the Official Code of Georgia spell out many specific duties for the Office of Sheriff, including service as detention officers, as court officers, and as administrators. Class sessions introduced the new sheriffs to these responsibilities, which they will assume as of Jan. 1, 2005. State and national experts also lectured the sheriffs-elect on the latest issues concerning jails, civil procedure, personnel, and liability issues.
The course was initiated by the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, which drafted legislation in 1979 requiring every newly elected sheriff to complete the training course during the first term of office. This class marks the completion of the seventh training academy since the 1979 mandate.
The training has evolved from a voluntary, two-day seminar in 1960 into an intense, four-week curriculum required by law. Georgia was the first state to require training for newly-elected law enforcement officers, although many states have since passed similar measures.
“I want to commend Sheriff-Elect Nicholson and this entire group for their commitment to serve and protect the citizens of their counties,” said Terry Norris, the executive vice president of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association.
“It’s always exciting to meet a new class of sheriffs and I wish each of them luck in their first term.”
To date, 248 sheriffs have graduated from the academy. Sheriff Nicholson takes office on Jan. 1.