DESOTO COUNTY, MS (abc24.com) - More deputies and more departments. DeSoto County's sheriff says it's time to expand.
The county is growing faster than the department can keep up. The sheriff says he needs to add to the ranks so safety doesn't suffer.
DeSoto deputies cover 500 miles a day. "You're looking at maybe an hour, an hour and 15 minutes" is how long Sheriff Bill Rasco says it takes to drive from one end of the county to the other.
Rasco would like to add a satellite office in either the eastern or western part of the county, so Hernando is not their only location.
"To provide service to citizens who don't live close to the sheriff's department or to the county seat to better serve them."
Also, Rasco says he needs more deputies.
"For the number of people who live in this county, we're well below the number of deputies we need to serve," he tells abc24.com.
That needs to change soon to keep the crime rate down.
But it all takes money. Rasco's hoping changes can be made without increasing taxes.
"That somebody will step up and say hey we may have a space for you," he says. "It's just one of those things we're looking for."
"One thing I feel like, is if I don't continue to progress this department and we get stagnant, it's time for somebody else to sit in this spot and take over because there's so much more we can accomplish."
The sheriff wants to have a plan in place by the beginning of next year.
