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Dale Ducworth

Dennis Gough, left, the Independent party candidate for the Anderson County Sheriff's office, debates Republican candidate John Skipper. The debate was sponsored by the Independent-Mail and WRIX-FM radio, which took place on October 17 at the Anderson University Thrift Library.

ANDERSON — The two candidates for Anderson County sheriff presented different approaches to running the office, but agreed that working with communities is crucial to controlling crime.

John Skipper, the Republican candidate who defeated incumbent David Crenshaw, and Dennis Gough, the Independent Party candidate, both also agreed that drug and gang issues were growing problems in Anderson County.

Election Day is Nov. 4. The forum was sponsored by the Anderson Independent-Mail and WRIX-FM and held at Anderson University on Friday morning.

Skipper, from Columbia, is a former Richland County and Anderson County sheriff’s officer. He rose from deputy when he started in 1972 to captain in Richland County and was a captain in Anderson County’s sheriff’s office.

Gough, from the Chicago area, is a retired railroad police officer. He said many people are not familiar with what railroad officers do, but they are not just “hobo chasers” or security guards. He said he has investigated major crimes, including homicides and serial killings. Railroad officers are “certified police officers,” he said.

Gough said the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office “needs a different direction” and the budget has to be brought under control.

“Ninety percent of crimes are drug related,” he said, and called for doubling the size of the narcotics department and adding more drug dogs. Trained dogs, he said, have shown they can make a difference in drug investigations. Gough said he would “cut down the brass” in the department and get more officers on the street.

He supports a posse system in which citizens are trained to work with police on minor calls.

“Nobody can patrol a community better than its own citizens,” Gough said.

Skipper said he wants a regional system, with officers assign to four or five divisions, with two to three majors over each, supported by lieutenants and sergeants. The divisions would be based from Anderson out to the border of the county, allowing for more officers to deal with the areas where the bulk of crimes occur, near the city of Anderson, he said.

Skipper said he also supports community policing, but did not back Gough’s idea for possese because of liability and other issues. He said a minor situation handled by a posse member could quickly turn into a major situation and he’d rather have a sworn officer handle that.

Both men said they have identified top people to bring in if elected. Their picks have a variety of law enforcement experience, they said. Skipper said his two selections are local, and Gough said he has identified a former state police commander and the other is a former chief of police in Michigan.

Gough said he would downsize the patrol fleet from its current V-8 engine-equipped cars to more fuel efficient vehicles.

Both Skipper and Gough said they would allow deputies to take sheriff’s vehicles home, but Skipper said he favored a reimbursement system for longer drives. Having a vehicle is part of the compensation package for deputies, Gough said.

“Studies show vehicles are better taken care of when they are taken home,” Skipper said.

Asked about the budget, Skipper said he would be operating under the former sheriff’s budget when he takes office in January, but would develop his own for July. And he said he hoped to reconstruct the budget to keep it within its limits. He said he would follow the state procurement process and state bidding process.

Gough said he would “shop vendors,” use jail trustees to maintain vehicles and look out for taxpayers.

Skipper said using trustees can result in redoing work they’ve performed and might not be cost-effective.

Asked about connecting to the community, Skipper said he would have at least two meetings in each region per month, and would push region captains to get out in the community to find out issues. He also would follow up on emails sent to the department, he said.

Gough also plans to meet monthly with community residents and said he would run a patrol each month to make sure he stays in touch with citizens and officers.

Anderson County’s overcrowded detention center would remain under the sheriff’s control, both said, and neither would support a new facility right now.

Skipper said 70 percent of the people in the jail are not serving time, but are there for bond and other hearings. He said the detention process “could be streamlined” to reduce the number of people held.

Gough called for using ankle bracelets on minor crimes, such as not paying child support, to keep them in the community working and not incarcerated.

“We need to get as many as we can out of there to reduce … costs,” Gough said.

Both men said they would work with the solicitor’s office and judges to reduce backlogs. Gough suggested offering young offenders a choice of military service or incarceration, a process that “has changed lives,” he said.

Skipper said it is important to “decide what is best for the community” when working with the solicitor’s office and judges.