The most recent edition of your newspaper contains the latest in a series of letters that I find alarming. My issue is not the spirit of competition for political office, but the use of fear and disregard, or more accurately, distortion of facts as a tool for creating a political platform.

As with other letters a particular candidate for the office of sheriff has written, the most recent letter portrays a distorted and incorrect view of criminal activity in our community.

I have spent the better part of my adult life in the service of Fayette County as your sheriff. First and foremost among my concerns have been the prevention of crime and keeping our community safe.

In 1977, when I took office, Fayette County had a population of approximately 14,800 residents; today, more than 100,000 people call Fayette County home. In those same years, I have seen crime increase, but never anywhere remotely close to the rate at which our county has grown.

We are not, nor have we been, in the midst of a crime wave, especially in contrast to our neighbors. I am particularly proud of the fact that our crime rate is far and away the lowest of any metropolitan Atlanta area county.

The opening salvo of this current political season here in Fayette County touched on a sensitive issue in our community — the potential for gang activity. Through letters to the editor, one candidate attempted to exploit community concerns about gangs moving into our area.

Let me be clear — Fayette County does not have a “gang problem.”

The Sheriff’s Office has long recognized that gangs have a detrimental effect on any community they enter. For this reason I have had the Sheriff’s Office intimately involved in monitoring and addressing potential gang influences in a multi-agency task force for more than two years — long before one candidate discovered he could create fear by exaggerating a sensitive issue for our community. We will not allow any such activity to take root in our community.

Our track record speaks for itself. We provide a safe, peaceful and inviting community for everyone. We will continue that tradition.

I find no comfort in the track record of the Detroit Police Department embraced by Mr. Simmons. They have struggled ineffectively, since the time he served in a senior leadership position, to keep crime contained in that city.

To suggest that an economic slowdown, as evidenced at the Fayette Pavilion Shopping complex, is the result of an out of control crime rate is disingenuous at best, irresponsible as a matter of fact.

I am certain that the Fayetteville Police Department is on top of whatever criminal activity is occurring there, since the Fayette Pavilion Shopping Complex lies inside the city of Fayetteville.

We will continue, as we always have, to support them in their efforts to keep Fayette County safe, just as we do in Peachtree City, Tyrone, Woolsey, and Brooks.

I realize that we are entering a political campaign season, and drama and high theater are the order of the day. I want to assure each and every person who lives, works, or visits Fayette County that there is no place safer than here. We have been, and will continue to be, the guardians of the peace and tranquility of Fayette County.

Please encourage your readers to continue to patronize all of our businesses anytime they want, as frequently as possible, and not be deterred by those with an agenda dictated by political motivations and opportunism.

Randall Johnson

Fayette County Sheriff

Fayetteville, Ga.