Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Former state trooper Charlie Fox will run for sheriff, Questions Nextel Interference

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 09 Apr 2003 02:36:31 -0400

Former state trooper Charlie Fox will run for sheriff, Questions Nextel
Interference
By Sarah L. Greenhalgh
04/08/2003

His wants to be a sheriff "for the people." Democrat Charlie Ray
Fox, 42, officially entered the Fauquier County Sheriff's race this
week.

His platform is simple: reduce the budget, spend more time
community policing and add more school resource officers.

"I see myself as a community-friendly sheriff," Fox said on
Monday. "A lot of people are telling me they don't know who the
deputies are. I want residents and businesses to know each
and every deputy, to really know their policemen."

The lifelong resident of Fauquier was a Virginia State Trooper for nine years.
He
also worked in the Sheriff's Office from 1981-1991 as an investigative
supervisor and
as a patrol deputy and jailer. All told, Fox claims 18 years of law enforcement
experience.

Fox has a tough battle ahead of him. He is taking on Republican Sheriff Joe
Higgs,
61, who is going for his fourth term in office.

Fox believes his relative youth is a plus in the position and that it's time for
new
leadership.

"I have heard from the people in the community," the Midland resident said.
"They
are interested in a change."

This is not the first time Fox has run for sheriff; he ran against Higgs in
1991. He
said that even back then, as a much younger man with much less experience, he
had the support of the people and raised about $35,000 in campaign funds.

One of the things Fox would like to tackle head-on is the Sheriff's Office
budget. He
believes the cost of law enforcement is too high and can be reduced in several
ways.

"I think we need to be a little more resourceful in our spending," he said.

For instance, "We don't need the motorcycle program. Each (Harley Davidson)
motorcycle costs about $15,000, plus they cost more to maintain and are no good
in inclement weather."

Fox added, "Units like that are more suited to urban areas. When I was a state
trooper, I never had problems maneuvering through traffic to an accident site."

Fox would like to see several other program cuts as well.

"We have an explosives expert and special bomb vehicle now at the Sheriff's
Office," Fox said. "Do we really want to accept the responsibility of having
such a
unit here in the county? The Department of Defense has a unit nearby. We could
save on training officers by using DOD's if the need arose."

Fox would like to see more research put into the 800-MHz police radio program.
"I
am not saying a change is not needed," Fox said. "I would just like to make sure
if
we did change it over, we are not going to run into some other problem, like
with
Nextel coming in."

Fox believes other areas of the budget can be shaved as well. He thinks the
county
would save a great deal of money by changing the county vehicle take-home
policy.

"We would save a lot of wear and tear on the cars and reduce mileage if officers
did
not take home the vehicles," Fox said.

"I see a lot of county cars in Prince William at the shopping malls or running
errands with families in them," he went on. "What if something happened and an
officer had to respond? What would they do with the family in the car,
especially if
it went sour?"

Fox said he isn't completely against the vehicle take-home policy and can
understand if an officer wants to stop by and get some milk at the Quick Mart or

pick up the dry cleaning on the way home. He just thinks deputies should not be
running personal errands.

While Fox said that computer systems in the cars is a great idea, he worries
whether officers and computers may be more susceptible to hackers and other
crimes.

"I have some safety concerns when it comes to online information," Fox said.
"Also
when an officer is sitting alone with in his car with the light on, e-filing a
report, their
degree of sight outside the car is seriously diminished. It is very dangerous
for
them. That worries me."

Fox would like to see more resource officers in the schools system as well.

"I have five children in the school system. We definitely need more (community
resource officers)," Fox said. "The school system is only going to get bigger."

http://www.zwire.com/site/tab2.cfm?newsid=7651511&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506066&rfi=6

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