16-05-2025
Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough calls for more funding for deputies
FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough is not backing down from a big request.
He said he needs more deputies to get the job done. He asked the Forsyth County commissioners for $800,000 to beef up staffing.
It's budget season, and the decisions made will impact the county's future.
'I'm asking for the safety of the community,' Kimbrough said.
Kimbrough asked the board of commissioners to bring their office an additional $800,000 to add two more analysts for the Real-Time Crime Center, and the point he hit the hardest is bringing more deputies to the street.
'Since 2018, we have increased by over 20,000 more residents in this county. What that means is more calls … Just for the month of March, we had 235 triple zeros,' Kimbrough said.
Kimbrough explained that triple zeros are calls that come in, and there's no one to respond.
In April, there were still over 200 triple zeros.
'We have to meet the demands … Every year have been asking for additional patrols,' Kimbrough said.
Kimbrough told the board of commissioners that the sheriff's office has filled all their vacant positions.
Several commissioners raised the question: Can the school resource officers from the school system fill in that void?
'That doesn't equate to the 10 months where I don't have manpower. You're talking about two months out of the year … where they have to do training,' Kimbrough said.
Kimbrough was met with more pushback.
'When comparing to the request for EMS for 16 full-time advanced EMTs, they're all going to be answering medical emergencies,' County Commissioner Dan Besse said.
'I don't know if you know this, but many calls that EMS go on, they stage,' Kimbrough said.
Kimbrough explained that means EMS waits for a deputy to arrive on the scene before they can help the patient.
'So if they call and say, 'We need a deputy,' and I say, 'I don't have anyone to send,' they're staging until I get there,' Kimbrough said.
The discussion ended with County Commissioner Don Martin recommending that the sheriff look at his budget to find a way to fit some of those costs.
Kimbrough said he is going to pull more data for the commissioners regarding those triple-zero responses from the sheriff's office.
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