Walk it like I talk it

By Sheriff Eric Levitt

“Walk it like I talk it” is not only the famous hook for a song by the Migos, but also a catchy phrase we are using at the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office to meet people in the community, answer questions and get exercise at the same time.

My office plans to provide educational information to the citizens by emphasizing proactive problem solving in a systematic and routine fashion. Rather than responding to crime only after it occurs, we will use community policing to proactively develop solutions to the immediate underlying conditions contributing to public safety problems.

The community response has been phenomenal. Neighborhoods are scheduled weekly through the end of the year to walk and talk with me and my staff. We are using both a philosophy (a way of thinking) and an organizational strategy (a way to carry out the philosophy) that allows the Sheriff’s Office and the community to work closely together in creative ways to solve the problems of crime, illicit drugs, fear of crime, physical and social disorders.

If your community has an HOA we will send out communications through your president to provide you the dates and times. You may also send an email to my Public Information Officer Yolande.Moore@Rockdalecountyga.gov to let us know you are interested. Otherwise, we will use social media and mailbox notifications to invite you to join us.

 Every walk:

• is less than an hour long

• has a short warm up at the start, followed by a brisk walk and then a short cool down at the end

• welcomes new walkers who would benefit from being more active to ask questions and express concerns

• is an opportunity to meet the Sheriff and new people in your area

This is an added initiative to build trust and accessibility to me and my staff. During the walks, I want to hear any concerns from crime, the agency’s performance to other county issues that we can offer assistance. I would like to address and correct these concerns by incorporating Health and Wellness.

Throughout each month, the clerk of courts, tax commissioner, sheriff and probate judge—Rockdale’s elected constitutional officers—discuss topics relevant to their respective roles