Sheriff Chuck Havard has released a statement regarding dissemination of public information on social media in the event of arrests

Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard

I want to take a few minutes to address the social media policy at the Sheriff’s Office when it comes to the dissemination of public information. For many years the State of Texas has had very strict laws on public information regarding law enforcement operations and information that the public has a “RIGHT” to know from law enforcement agencies. Specifically, when law-enforcement makes an arrest of any individual. An “arrest” just means that law-enforcement has the suspicion to believe that a crime has been committed. Generally speaking, when arrest happens, the “suspect” hires an attorney and the legal process to a trial begins. At trial, back stories, mental competence, circumstances surrounding the suspected crime and many other things come into the consideration before a judge and/or a jury at the courthouse. If the “suspect” is convicted, that means that a jury or a judge was convinced “beyond a reasonable doubt” that he or she did commit a crime. At that time, judges/juries can give leniency if they believe leniency is warranted in that particular case.

The difference between an “arrest” and a “conviction” is far and wide. Our job at the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office is to go out and enforce the law as best as we possibly can. It can be a very difficult job, but we must rely on experience, training, good judgment, and a lot of common sense. Many times, in a county like ours, the Sheriff and the deputies know people that comes under arrest. Even during the most difficult times, we have to separate our personal feelings and be fair and professional as best as we can and enforce the law. If that means give people a break, then you give them a break. We are not judges, juries or lawyers and we SHOULD NOT ignore facts and evidence that support convictions in a court of law. Our job is to gather the facts and present the evidence in court (not on social media). It is the job of the judicial system to consider all the facts and the circumstances. More times than not, we do not make an arrest on most of our calls. However, sometimes depending on the seriousness of the offense and the circumstances, we do need to make an arrest to ensure the safety of the “suspect” and the public. When we do, this is “Public Information”. Which means the public has a right to know. For many, many years, the information regarding arrests have been made public through television, newspapers, radios, etc. Obviously, as technology progressed, social media is another way to inform the public on what law enforcement does, such as arrests, traffic incidents, weather events and other emergencies. Social Media is a great tool to immediately notify the public. Again, this information has been disseminated to the public for decades through various news outlets. Now, like most other law enforcement agencies across the world, JCSO utilizes Social Media to inform the public on what we are doing and who we arrest. This is public information. We will provide the basic facts and probable cause regarding an arrest.

The point of this post is to educate the public about the difference between an “arrest” and a “conviction”. Under no circumstances, will we purposefully humiliate or embarrass anyone while they are in our custody. However, if you get arrested by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office for any Felony crime, a serious misdemeanor or any other crime that may have public interest, your picture will be put on social media so that the people of Jasper County know what our Sheriff’s Office is doing and how their tax dollars are getting spent. Does it deter crime? That’s not for me to decide. I assured the people of Jasper County when I was campaigning for this job that I would be transparent, work hard and keep them informed. I’m very proud of the work our men and women are doing.

If the people of Jasper County would rather me not disseminate this information to them on social media, I can assure you, they will let me know. Me and every employee at the Sheriff’s Office work for the people of Jasper County and we will continue to work hard and do the very best we can to keep our county safe. I hope this answers a few questions regarding social media posts.

It is an extreme honor and privilege to be the Sheriff of Jasper County.

Respectfully,

Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard