New sheriff makes changes

New Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson moved swiftly to create an agency to his liking, replacing top people from the previous administration, restructuring the office and vowing openness and cooperation with other departments and the courts.

“This is a new day,” Jackson said Friday.

Jackson, once head of the FBI office in Atlanta, defeated his predecessor, Myron Freeman in the Democratic primary runoff last summer. Freeman, who was with the Georgia State Patrol and head of two other state agencies, was elected to only one term as sheriff.

Jackson was interim sheriff for six months in 2004, at the end of Jackie Barrett’s term and just before Freeman took office.

A lot of the troubles Jackson faced at that time remained when he took over the agency on Thursday, the beginning of his four-year term. Freeman and the office had been blamed for security lapses at the jail and courthouse that allowed Brian Nichols to escape custody and kill four people in 2005, almost three months into Freeman’s term. The jail, which is operated by the sheriff, repeatedly failed to meet the requirements of a federal consent order to improve conditions.

The agency —- especially the jail —- has been impaired by large staff turnover, absenteeism and low morale, authorities have said.

There also is a backlog in serving warrants, but Jackson did not know how large it was or how old some of the outstanding warrants are.

Jackson replaced the five top people within the sheriff’s office —- the chief of staff, the chief jailer, the attorney, the head of human resources and the finance director.

Jackson also created four divisions: the jail division, the law enforcement division, the courts and reserve division, and the administration division.

He said the heads of each unit will be allowed to make decisions and to respond to questions from the public, he said. The sheriff has a contract with a former Fulton County deputy to appraise the security at the courthouse and to make suggestions.

“We’re going to go back and look at security like it was the first day [the building is open],” Jackson said.

Freeman made some improvements in the months after the 2005 shootings, but not all of those that were recommended by a special commission.

Jackson expects to make cuts because of finances but he stressed the importance of meeting the improvements required by a federal court order that caps inmate population, sets minimum staffing levels and requires about $60 million in improvements to the building.

“We’re in big trouble and we know it,” Jackson said. “I’m trying to make it clear we’re going to do it right.”