Hamlin County Investigations:
The Hamlin County Sheriff's Office spends many hours working on criminal case throughout the county as well as crime prevention.  Four communities throughout the county have County Law Contract Services that provides a set number of hours of patrol time in the community to prevent crime and enforce city ordnances.  For more information on the County Law Contract Service, please click here. 

During the past few years the call of services and crime violations have increased in the county.  Many of the cases in Hamlin County have been solved and arrests have been made.  The Hamlin County Sheriff's Office works with other federal, state and local agencies on many different cases. 

Crime Prevention Tips:

• Lock Your Doors!  Most crimes can be prevented by locking your doors.  Lock vehicles and roll up windows when not in use, lock garages, shop and house doors.  Use deadbolts and metal doors for the best protection against criminals.  If you own a business, place a hard metal bar horizontally across the center of the door when the business is closed during the night.  Make sure to the remove the bar when the business is open for the day (safety and health reasons).   
   

• Lock Windows.  Make sure all windows in your house are locked when you are away from home. 
   

• Easy Spots for Keys.  Do not leave a key under the doormat, mailbox or outside locations where it is easy to find.  If you must keep a key behind leave it with a trusted neighbor or family member.
   

• Make it Look Like Someone is Home.  When you are not home, have timers turn on different lights in the house during different times of the day.  Have a trusted neighbor, family member or friend pick up newspapers, trash and anything else you may have outside.  When you leave for vacation, make sure that only a few people know that you are leaving.
   

• Important Documents Locked Up.  Keep title work and other important documents locked up in a safe or trust box.
   

• Have Lots of Light.  Have outside lights on during the night.
   

• DO NOT GIVE ANY INFORMATION OVER THE PHONE.  Make sure that you do not give out important information such as... driver license numbers, family or friend information, date of birth, social security numbers, banking information and credit card numbers over the phone or to someone you do not know.
   

• Cut Up Important Paper Work.  Make sure to cut up any important paper work before placing them into the trash.  If you also write checks on the duplicate copies, make sure that your account numbers are blacked out and cut up before throwing them away.  
   

• Secure your mailbox. Obtain a lock, if necessary. If you receive mail through an apartment house cluster-box arrangement, make sure the locks for the panel and your box lock correctly.
   

• When applying for a credit card, check the return address. If there is a sticker with a return address placed on the application, contact the card issuing company to verify the correct address.
   

• Business.  Keep the inside and outside well lit during opening and closed hours.  Keep windows cleared so law enforcement is able to see into the building.  Use deadbolts or metal bars on doors when the business is closed.  HAVE SECURITY CAMERAS OR A SECURITY SYSTEM.  Have a well organized inventory.

Please keep in mind that doing all these safety precaution will not 100 percent protect you from becoming a victim in a crime.