Bibb County sheriff touts advantages of a new Macon jail as he speaks on his next term

As Sheriff David Davis celebrated his reelection and prepared for his fourth term with festivities Thursday, he said Bibb County may soon have more information on whether it’ll get a new jail to replace the current facility that’s decades old.

“The old jail is nearly 45 years old and is basically worn out,” he said.

Macon-Bibb Mayor Lester Miller has acknowledged the county is looking for where to put a new detention facility. Davis said the final decision for the jail’s location will come after studies and community input.

He said a new jail will provide a safer, more humane detention facility which will suit the needs of the inmates. Those with mental and physical health issues would have special sections for themselves and it would also have places for those inmates who choose to be disruptive and harmful in the jail, according to Davis.

On Thursday, Davis held a celebration event to thank the community for the opportunity to serve another term as sheriff.

“I am very excited to have been reelected - it’s truly an honor to serve the community where I was born and raised,” he said. “I am very grateful for the voters having the confidence in me to give me another term.”

Davis, who first took office in 2013, will start his fourth term in January after beating out three other candidates.

Bibb sheriff explains prior achievements

Davis said he breaks up his accomplishments by terms and feels a lot has been done since he took office 11 years ago.

Davis said his first term was dedicated to establishing a consolidated law enforcement agency for Macon-Bibb. The move entailed the Macon Police Department and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office merging to create one of the largest community law enforcement agencies in Georgia, according to Davis.

He said the county also established the “Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety” program for fifth and sixth graders in Bibb County schools.

“Since the program started in 2014 we have graduated over 9,000 students,” he said.

Davis said in his second term, he tackled the county mandated early retirement of almost 100 sheriff’s office employees and rebuilt its leadership team in the wake of those retirements.

In his third and current term, Davis said the county dealt with COVID-19 and an uptick in violent crime - an issue he believes is improving.

“Also, we had to deal with individuals not wanting to work in law enforcement because of the horrible actions of some malicious police officers across the country. We are now beginning to see new people wanting to join law enforcement,” he said.

Davis said 2022 seems to have been the high water mark for violent crime in Macon. He said the Macon Violence Prevention Strategic Plan and community work allowed the county to facilitate and create new programs, showing people that solving a short-term disagreement with a gun is not productive to anyone.

“The fine work of our investigators and Special Response Unit showed that if a person was going to commit a serious crime that they would be arrested and brought to justice - that work has resulted in us having over 100 people in the jail charged with murder,” he said. “We’re doing much better this year than in 2022 and have seen that high trend diminish significantly.”

Davis said in his fourth term, he plans to listen to citizens’ priorities and adapt to societal issues or crime trends.

He also said the department needs to ensure it recruits qualified and dedicated people to build on recent law enforcement successes.