Why did you decide to seek public office?

Hartman: I have lived and worked in Davie County for many years while serving in Law Enforcement and would like to continue serving our County and the citizens. I have watched our County grow and change and the Sheriff’s Office along with it; I have been deeply involved in shaping many of those changes, and want to continue to be part of preparing the Sheriff’s Office to serve our citizens and County over the next thirty years. It has been my honor and privilege over the past year and a half to serve as Sheriff alongside the outstanding group of dedicated men and women who comprise the Davie County Sheriff’s Office. My staff truly exemplify service above self on a daily basis and know they have my full support. I am readily available to them; since serving as Chief Deputy I have always maintained an open-door policy and place great value on the earned respect of my Team.

What is the most important need within the Davie County Sheriff’s Office, and how do you plan to meet that need.

Hartman: While there are many problems and needs the Sheriff’s Office faces on a daily basis, such as the opioid crisis, these are the symptoms of our ever-changing society and world. The most important need for the Sheriff’s Office is to prepare to serve the County and Citizens over the next thirty years. The types of crimes and other crises we face every day are constantly changing and evolving; we must continue to train Officers and staff to meet these new demands, seeking new and improved ways to serve our community.

This is a twofold process; first is to prepare Staff for the problems we see becoming issues, such as cyber-crime, new street drugs, the tendency of criminals to operate more as complex organizations and gangs (instead of small groups and individuals) and the move toward more specialization in Law Enforcement as opposed to just general Law Enforcement. These ever-changing trends require the Sheriff’s Office to continue to build partnerships and work with other Law Enforcement groups, as well as non-traditional partners. We have worked hard to establish great relationships with our surrounding agencies, as well as our state and federal partners. Our Officers are becoming better equipped to recognize and deal with the rising mental health issues in our county. We are working with several groups to provide additional resources for people, such as an addict or mental health patient; to access help as opposed to interacting with a person and then forgetting them. Officers are also becoming better trained to investigate crimes in new ways and to meet the ever-changing ways in which criminals commit crimes.  We have a very active computer and technology crimes unit that is well-equipped and trained. We also are moving to a specialized crime scene unit that is able to handle the processing of crime scenes; this will allow our Detectives to begin their investigation faster, instead of spending valuable time processing the scene.   

The second part of this problem is finding ways to continue to improve our services to the citizens in a cost-efficient manner.  The County, like most of us at home, has limited resources. We have to better utilize those resources and implement new strategies to complete our mission. This means that we reach a limit on taxpayer-supplied funds and the County either raises taxes, or the Sheriff’s Office looks for new and different ways to provide our services. This can be as simple as finding a cheaper provider for equipment or as complex as how do we adjust current manpower levels to meet demands on our services. We are also looking for non-traditional ways to fund more Officers, such as the contract that was just negotiated with the town of Bermuda Run. This contract provides an Officer to work in Bermuda Run at zero cost to the County. During the hours that Officer is on duty, our regularly scheduled Officers are able to spend additional time in other areas of the County.      

What do you consider the main duties of a Sheriff?

Hartman: A Sheriff has numerous duties and responsibilities; most people would never think of the Sheriff’s various and wide-spread responsibilities.Some of these duties are required by state statutes, while others are covered by common law. The most common thing people see a Sheriff doing is the same as all Law Enforcement, which is answering calls and enforcing criminal law. This is a large part of what a Sheriff and his Office does, it is also the most visible. However, there are numerous other daily duties of a Sheriff that are not nearly as visible or recognizable to most.

I am responsible for maintaining the County Jail and protecting the persons that are detained in that jail; this is just one of a long list of items that are required of a Sheriff by State Statute. There are many additional duties required such as: providing courtroom and courthouse security, providing bailiff services to the various judges and courts that are held in the County, Issuing and managing all gun permits, maintaining the sex offender registry, collecting DNA from all persons convicted of a felony, transporting incarcerated persons across the state, transporting all mental commitment patients to and from hospitals and medical facilities. Additionally, the Sheriff is responsible for serving all civil processes which includes judgements, evictions, and many other types of processes; no other Law Enforcement Agencies are even required to learn how to do this in their training. The above is just a short list of a Sheriff’s duties, the Sheriff also has to issue metal transport permits and panhandler permits. I am also responsible for Animal Services and the Animal Shelter in our County.

I list all these items because the Office of Sheriff is a multi-faceted agency with many responsibilities that are unique to only a Sheriff and no other Law Enforcement Agencies carry out these functions, nor do they have training to do so; this requires a Sheriff to be much more than just a cop. His primary duty is, and always will be, to provide the best possible services to the County and its’ citizens that can be provided. This duty requires the Sheriff to make decisions every day that may not be popular with one group or another, but he must make decisions that best serve the entire County.    

Other Issues

Hartman: The opioid crisis continues to be one of our county’s (and country’s) main drug problems.  Although there are (and always have been other drug problems), the opioid issue has overwhelmed most of the country. Here in Davie County we have seen a large increase in people using these drugs over the past few years, along with a large increase in overdose cases; this is a national problem and requires a national approach to solve. I have met with legislators to discuss interventions that can be done on the state level, and through the NC Sheriff’s Association Legislative Committee have made recommendations for the Opioid Control and Community Protection Act. These recommendations would make multiple changes to state law that will assist Local Law Enforcement to combat this problem. Some of these changes are adding Fentanyl to the trafficking statutes, giving Law Enforcement access to information about prescription opioids being dispensed in our area, funding for training, drug disposal programs, as well as treatment and recovery programs.

Here in Davie County our approach is twofold; first, an aggressive enforcement of drug laws against those selling and distributing all drugs and programs that are designed to assist the addicted to begin living drug-free.  The Sheriff’s Office filed over 400 drug-related charges in 2017, including over 120 felony drug charges. We also indicted an individual in federal court for delivering drugs to a young lady who overdosed on them. This investigation took two years and is still ongoing to find the people who originally supplied the drugs. We have developed multiple partnerships that allow us to vastly expand our investigations and track drug networks to the top of the chain, then cut off the head.

The second part of combatting this crisis is assisting the people who are addicted. These drugs are extremely addictive and affect a much larger group of people who are not normally street-drug users; this has happened through opioid prescription medications becoming stronger and more frequently prescribed. The Sheriff’s Office is working with local partners to develop programs that will assist people to gain access to treatment programs. We have applied for grants to fund a multidisciplinary team involving a Deputy, Paramedic, and Health Department personnel who will assist people to find help and connect them with available services.  We have enhanced our use of pre-trial programs for those that are arrested and need assistance. In 2017, there were fifty-two persons who received substance abuse help and twenty who received mental health assistance. Deputies are carrying information that can be distributed to people who want help and we have developed partnerships with programs that individuals can be referred to when released from jail. The Sheriff’s Office has also appointed a Program Director at the jail, and are working on plans to allow inmates who request help to begin a treatment program while they are in jail. Optimally, this will increase the chances for these individuals to continue getting help after they are released and reduce the recidivism rates.   

The Davie County Sheriff’s Office is the best trained, most professional, and capable office that we have ever had in Davie County. We are continually searching for ways to provide enhanced services to our county and to do that in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.  We have developed our abilities to process digital evidence here in the Coun

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and trained. We also are moving to a specialized crime scene unit that is able to handle the processing of crime scenes; this will allow our Detectives to begin their investigation faster, instead of spending valuable time processing the scene.   

The second part of this problem is finding ways to continue to improve our services to the citizens in a cost-efficient manner.  The County, like most of us at home, has limited resources. We have to better utilize those resources and implement new strategies to complete our mission. This means that we reach a limit on taxpayer-supplied funds and the County either raises taxes, or the Sheriff’s Office looks for new and different ways to provide our services. This can be as simple as finding a cheaper provider for equipment or as complex as how do we adjust current manpower levels to meet demands on our services. We are also looking for non-traditional ways to fund more Officers, such as the contract that was just negotiated with the town of Bermuda Run. This contract provides an Officer to work in Bermuda Run at zero cost to the County. During the hours that Officer is on duty, our regularly scheduled Officers are able to spend additional time in other areas of the County.      

What do you consider the main duties of a Sheriff?

Hartman: A Sheriff has numerous duties and responsibilities; most people would never think of the Sheriff’s various and wide-spread responsibilities.Some of these duties are required by state statutes, while others are covered by common law. The most common thing people see a Sheriff doing is the same as all Law Enforcement, which is answering calls and enforcing criminal law. This is a large part of what a Sheriff and his Office does, it is also the most visible. However, there are numerous other daily duties of a Sheriff that are not nearly as visible or recognizable to most.

I am responsible for maintaining the County Jail and protecting the persons that are detained in that jail; this is just one of a long list of items that are required of a Sheriff by State Statute. There are many additional duties required such as: providing courtroom and courthouse security, providing bailiff services to the various judges and courts that are held in the County, Issuing and managing all gun permits, maintaining the sex offender registry, collecting DNA from all persons convicted of a felony, transporting incarcerated persons across the state, transporting all mental commitment patients to and from hospitals and medical facilities. Additionally, the Sheriff is responsible for serving all civil processes which includes judgments, evictions, and many other types of processes; no other Law Enforcement Agencies are even required to learn how to do this in their training. The above is just a short list of a Sheriff’s duties, the Sheriff also has to issue metal transport permits and panhandler permits. I am also responsible for Animal Services and the Animal Shelter in our County.

I list all these items because the Office of Sheriff is a multi-faceted agency with many responsibilities that are unique to only a Sheriff and no other Law Enforcement Agencies carry out these functions, nor do they have training to do so; this requires a Sheriff to be much more than just a cop. His primary duty is, and always will be, to provide the best possible services to the County and its’ citizens that can be provided. This duty requires the Sheriff to make decisions every day that may not be popular with one group or another, but he must make decisions that best serve the entire County.    

Other Issues

Hartman: The opioid crisis continues to be one of our county’s (and country’s) main drug problems.  Although there are (and always have been other drug problems), the opioid issue has overwhelmed most of the country. Here in Davie County we have seen a large increase in people using these drugs over the past few years, along with a large increase in overdose cases; this is a national problem and requires a national approach to solve. I have met with legislators to discuss interventions that can be done on the state level, and through the NC Sheriff’s Association Legislative Committee have made recommendations for the Opioid Control and Community Protection Act. These recommendations would make multiple changes to state law that will assist Local Law Enforcement to combat this problem. Some of these changes are adding Fentanyl to the trafficking statutes, giving Law Enforcement access to information about prescription opioids being dispensed in our area, funding for training, drug disposal programs, as well as treatment and recovery programs.

Here in Davie County our approach is twofold; first, an aggressive enforcement of drug laws against those selling and distributing all drugs and programs that are designed to assist the addicted to begin living drug-free.  The Sheriff’s Office filed over 400 drug-related charges in 2017, including over 120 felony drug charges. We also indicted an individual in federal court for delivering drugs to a young lady who overdosed on them. This investigation took two years and is still ongoing to find the people who originally supplied the drugs. We have developed multiple partnerships that allow us to vastly expand our investigations and track drug networks to the top of the chain, then cut off the head.

The second part of combatting this crisis is assisting the people who are addicted. These drugs are extremely addictive and affect a much larger group of people who are not normally street-drug users; this has happened through opioid prescription medications becoming stronger and more frequently prescribed. The Sheriff’s Office is working with local partners to develop programs that will assist people to gain access to treatment programs. We have applied for grants to fund a multidisciplinary team involving a Deputy, Paramedic, and Health Department personnel who will assist people to find help and connect them with available services.  We have enhanced our use of pre-trial programs for those that are arrested and need assistance. In 2017, there were fifty-two persons who received substance abuse help and twenty who received mental health assistance. Deputies are carrying information that can be distributed to people who want help and we have developed partnerships with programs that individuals can be referred to when released from jail. The Sheriff’s Office has also appointed a Program Director at the jail, and are working on plans to allow inmates who request help to begin a treatment program while they are in jail. Optimally, this will increase the chances for these individuals to continue getting help after they are released and reduce the recidivism rates.   

The Davie County Sheriff’s Office is the best trained, most professional, and capable office that we have ever had in Davie County. We are continually searching for ways to provide enhanced services to our county and to do that in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.  We have developed our abilities to process digital evidence here in the County; this allows us to review digital evidence without having to send it out to a digital lab and speeds up our investigations. While this does not sound important, it has become an overriding issue for an investigation. It is now routine to identify information and evidence on computers, tablets and cell phones. We are accessing this information on all types of cases, including break-ins and even assaults, where people send text messages about what their activity has been.

The above referenced leads us to Cybercrimes and other new ways the criminal is finding to victimize our citizens and our County. It is a changing world and we are constantly striving to meet the demands placed on us while finding new and innovative ways to serve and protect our County. We continue to meet those demands by ever-changing techniques, such as touch DNA and other crime scene technologies, by training employees and developing a crime scene unit; this unit responds to a crime scene at the request of officers and detectives as needed.

We will continue to provide the best, most professional Law Enforcement services to Davie County that can possibly be provided.