Sheriff Joey Terrell

Message from Sheriff Joey Terrell: 

As Sheriff of Habersham County, for the past year and a half, I am pleased that I have been able to innovate many new services for the citizen of Habersham County, which have resulted in increased safety for all of us.   

As a reflection of those innovations, I am very pleased to announce that your Sheriff’s office has won the prestigious first place in the IACP National Law Enforcement Challenge for offices of our size.  This was the first year Habersham County has ever entered this competition. We also won rookie of the year for the whole country. All residents should take pride in this achievement. The award recognizes our dedication to Highway Safety and makes all of us very proud. I am very proud of our Patrol Unit.

Further, I have created the Habersham County Sheriff's Office K-9 unit at no additional expense to the county, which is comprised of three deputy sheriffs/K-9 teams.  Lieutenant  J. Sosebee is partnered with Rex, a German Sheppard trained in the detection of several types of drugs and narcotics.  In addition, Rex is trained in suspect apprehension and crowd control. Corporal Anthony Giaquinta is partnered with K-9 Mike a dual purpose Malinois and Deputy Jeremy Eller is partnered with K-9 Nikos a dual purpose Malinois. I am very proud of our K-9 team.  The unit is available for demonstrations to civic groups and special events upon request.

In reviewing past case loads, which evidenced a need for more attention to be applied to the area of domestic violence, we applied and were granted a state funded grant for our own Domestic Violence Unit. Domestic violence is a serious and prevalent social problem affecting the quality of life in Habersham County. Commander Richard Stein oversees the domestic violence unit. The unit is well educated in intimate relationship violence and provides officer training, along with serving as a liaison to the community. They conduct follow-up interviews, obtain additional evidence (medical reports, photos, etc.), prepare arrest warrants, and insure complete case files are forwarded to the district attorney's office for prosecution. The unit also works closely with The Circle of Hope a victim advocacy center.

Unfortunately, traffic accidents on our roadways have always been one of the most dangerous problems facing the citizens of Habersham County.  To combat this increasing problem, I have created the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (S.T.E.P.) The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program combines key innovative strategies and additional law enforcement services to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in traffic collisions. Deputies assigned to the program's Traffic Enforcement Unit responded to accidents, focused on traffic concerns at hazardous intersections, and participated in traffic awareness presentations to local groups.  The Traffic Enforcement Unit saturates locations plagued by unsafe traffic conditions and impaired or unlawful drivers. We have applied and are hoping to obtain a state funded grant for HEAT UNITS that would help create more positions in this area and keep our roadways safer.

The (SPOT) Sexual Predator / Offender Tracking Unit was established to deal with the growing population of Sexual Predators and Offenders within Habersham County. The SPOT unit works closely with state and local law enforcement agencies in monitoring high risk sex offenders and predators. Since its inception, the SPOT unit has been very successful in tracking offenders that attempt to abscond from probation or their registration requirements. The unit is responsible for insuring that the community is notified of known sexual predators that move into their neighborhoods. Many hours of surveillance are conducted on high risk offenders. The SPOT unit will conduct quarterly sweeps in Habersham County to insure offenders are complying with their conditions of probation and registration requirements. The SPOT unit Deputy Wesley Welborn is available for community meetings and to assist the community in the area of sexual offender and predator issues.

Today’s students face dangers older generations could not have imagined. That is why I assigned a full-time School Resource Deputy, J. Carver, who started The C.H.A.M.P.S. UNIT which means Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety.  C.H.A.M.P.S. was founded in 2003 by the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association to address these urgent challenges. The flexible, twelve-week program includes a weekly hour-long lesson from a C.H.A.M.P.S.-certified deputy sheriff.  Subject matter includes: Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Abuse, Prevention, Boating/Swimming Safety, Hunting/Gun Safety, Gangs and Violence, Peer Pressure, And Much More!  The target audience is fifth graders, and the program is tailored to meet the unique needs of students in each county so they resist self-destructive behavior. Good behavior is positively reinforced through fun, rewarding activities.

Each of our sworn and non-sworn members of the Sheriff’s office work tirelessly to bring you the services that you expect and deserve.  I am very honored to lead these dedicated men and women. I am extremely proud of the wonderful liaisons that we have formed with local police departments throughout the county and with various task forces from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the State Patrol and the FBI.  We will continue to examine ways in which these partnerships can be enhanced and increased.

If you have any questions, I or a member of our office is always available 24/7.  Please do not hesitate to call, write, E-mail or visit. 

Kindly visit our website often for new information on how we can help you.