By Cletis Steele, Carbon County Sheriff’s Office
Fall is right around the corner, summer is almost over and Labor Day is quickly approaching. Schools are back in session and we can feel the change in the air. It has been another busy week here at the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office where our jail population has ranged from 50-70 and is currently at 65 inmates which includes, 16 females and 49 males. The majority of our recent bookings have been Warrants, Court Ordered Commitments, Drug and Alcohol Related Offenses, and Thefts.
Last week, we had the opportunity to send three of our deputies (Roseann Willson, John Powell and Adam Cox) to Park City for IDHO Training (Inmate Discipline Hearing Officer). The training was free of charge and provided our deputies with some great training that they could bring back to our jail staff regarding inmate violations and a consistent plan on how to handle certain jail policy violations. Training such as this can only benefit our facility and also our inmates.
The recent decline in female inmates has been needed for quite some time. Our jail was originally designed to hold 14 females. Due to the recent increase in criminal activity regarding our female population, we have had to use our work release pod to house some female inmates. Over the past months, it has not been uncommon to have 30 female inmates incarcerated inside the Carbon County Jail. The increase in female inmates is not only taking place in Carbon County but also statewide as well as nationwide. Due to this reason, the Carbon County Jail is still offering our female population weekly classes to help reduce recidivism and help them in areas they are struggling.
The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office is still receiving calls on a weekly basis from Carbon County citizens who have been scammed by people through the mail or by telephone. The most recent scam involves a caller advising that they work for Technical Support of America and that they can fix the problem they are having with Windows 7. The scam artist gains access into your computer after you pay a $199.00 fee by credit card. Instead of fixing a problem you were not aware of in the first place, they now have access to your computer whenever they want.
In a recent case, Technical Support called our victim back after a couple of weeks to see if they were happy with their work. The victim advised they were not happy and they felt as if they were being scammed. Technical Support then offered them $1,300 through Western Union due to them not being satisfied with the work they did. All they requested was for our victim to go to Western Union at K-Mart and give them their credit card number so their account could be reimbursed. Our victim was not falling for this twice and summoned local law enforcement. Let’s remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it is! Please remember to report all suspicious activity to your local law enforcement agency and never release personal information over the phone or to unknown individuals.
The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office wants our citizens to know that we take all crimes serious being infractions, misdemeanors or felony offenses. If you are a victim of a crime, please to not hesitate to contact your local law enforcement agency anytime, day or night.
Remember to have your address visible on your residence or mail box for emergency purposes and have a great Labor Day weekend, Carbon County. Be safe and remember if you see something suspicious, report it.