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Sheriff discounts candidate’s claims

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com

Sheriff Mike Yeager has taken the offensive on Coweta County’s crime statistics.

The figures came under fire this week at a political forum when challenger Scott Smith said Coweta County needed to do a better job at fighting crime. Smith said Coweta’s arrests were less than neighboring Fayette County’s.

“Ou arrests have gone up every year. Last year, we processed 5,557 people through the jail, which is about 468 a month,” Yeager said.

Yeager said that Smith was basing his statistics on both counties having 100,000 in population, but Yeager said neither Fayette or Coweta had populations at 100,000 during the 1993-1998 period that Smith cited as the basis for his statistics.

“We don’t base our numbers on population; we base them on the number of cases we investigate and those have been on the rise in the last few years,” Yeager said.

The sheriff also pointed out that Fayette County is not immune from crime. “They just had a homicide in a dentist’s chair over there,” he said.

Yeager also said the Smith is providing misinformation on the campaign trail.

“He said he’s a 17-year certified peace officer. Well, he hasn’t done any police work in the last 12 years. that’s like me saying I’m a 30-year certified high school graduate.”

Voters head to the polls July 20 to choose between Yeager and Smith.