Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch Talks Holiday Safety and More

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:17):
This is the Uncle Henry Show here on news radio
seven to ten WNTM. Well, welcome back to the Uncle
Henry Show Mobile County Sheriff Paul Bird, Sheriff Burch, thank
you for coming back to the Uncle Henry Show.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Glad to be back again.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Here we are in December. How are things at the
Sheriff's office in December?

Speaker 2 (00:36):
They're going good. You know, we typically see an uptick
in theft cases related to holiday package deliveries and those
kind of things, but overall we're doing great.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Okay, before we get more specific about this last month
of the year and how people act and how they
shouldn't act and all that kind of stuff, how has
twenty twenty five been for the Sheriff's Department? Been a
good year for you?

Speaker 2 (00:59):
It's been a great year, you know, on board, a
new a few new employees and just trying to streamline
different programs that have been hugely successful and we want
to rock that right on in the next year.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Okay, so successful twenty twenty five. Now, this is a
time of year where lots of little kids go to
Santa claus with wish lists. Is there a Sheriff's Department
wish list? Are there things on a list that you'd
love to get?

Speaker 2 (01:28):
There's a lot, probably too long of a list, yeah,
to ask santaphore, Okay, yeah, we yeah, obviously we're we're
in a critical stage for vehicles and for personnel, primarily
on the jail side. Yeah, we're at a good staffing
level on the enforcement side, but the jail side, we
could use more personnel and a lot of times it

(01:52):
just takes money to attract, you know, people to that
type of job. I think I said it before as
a tough, tough job.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, we talked about it at LINK the last time
you were here, your experiences with the run of the.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Jail, So you know, obviously, you know don't want to
be you know, totally partial to Sheriff's office personnel, but
law enforcement as a whole, you know, I think they
need to be paid more for what they do. And
I'm not talking about the top administrators. I'm talking about
the guys on the street. Well need to earn a

(02:23):
bigger paycheck.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
So in terms of for those that don't pay close
attention to this stuff, when you have needs like this,
do you go to the county, to the state, who
do you go to to fulfill these needs.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
The funding source for the Sheriff's office is the County Commission.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
Okay, so it's through the county. Does the state ever
help out? Are there ever grants for this or that?

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Now that there are occasional grants that we apply for,
they're usually minimal there. Most of the time they're matching
type grants, and so you have to be careful if
you know, if it's not achievable through what you have
in your budget, then it even being a grant doesn't
do you any good if you can't match it.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
Right now, you mentioned vehicles, how are your vehicles doing?

Speaker 2 (03:08):
We're at not in good shape with vehicles. We because
of some of the budget concerns that we've got this year.
We normally have been getting about twenty five per year.
We were allocated ten, and I've got a number of
vehicles that are over three hundred thousand miles. It's just
not safe to operate, especially you know, responding to a

(03:33):
you know, an emergency type call or a pursuit or something.
It's just not safe to operate something with that many miles.
And it calls when they break down frequently and it
costs more to fix some than what the vehicle's worth,
and you know, but I'm hoping, you know, the budget
was based off some projections, you know, through revenue. I'm
hoping that that those projections were not correct and we

(03:56):
can go back to the drawing board sometime next month
and you'll see what we can do to.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
How How does the Sheriff's department decide what type of
vehicles they want to put out on the streets.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
A lot of that decision is conversations between my staff
and myself and the mechanics at the garage. You know,
I've met with them actually before I became the sheriff,
and what vehicles require the least amount of maintenance that
you know, through their studies, parts are easy to you know, obtainable,

(04:35):
and through that, you know, I make the ultimate decision
on what we purchased. But I factor in all those
elements to make that decision.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
And you've had an entire adult lifetime of riding around
of these kind of vehicles, have it you I have?

Speaker 2 (04:50):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (04:50):
Do you? I've noticed, of course, as many people have,
that through the years, law enforcement all over the countries
moved to SUVs, higher profile vehicles. Is that time in terms?
Is that really an advantage because of the way they perform,
or is it also an advantage in terms of psychology
on the road of being more visible.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
I would say a little bit of both. Okay, you know,
we have some areas out in the county where there's
a little rougher terrain and these smaller resuvs it was
nothing to lose bumpers off the back of them or sedan's. Yeah,
the bumpers get torn off trying to go down some
of these you know, not so well maintained private dirt roads.

(05:29):
But it also is you know, just generational. Generationally, people
have gotten a little bigger, and so you know, if
you need that extra space for a prisoner in that
back seat and all the gear that you have to carry. Now, okay,
we carry breaching tools and different types of vests for

(05:50):
different situations and so, but certainly they're bigger and they're safer.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
You know, I'm not considered the fact that the Sheriff's
department has to go out into the county, out into
the into the country. He talked about dirt roads not
being maintained. I've driven down some dirt roads out near
Citronelle that they have the big sign beyond County Maintenance. Yeah,
and you really take you're really taking a chance any
time you go down those roads. What's the most remote

(06:17):
call you've had to go on?

Speaker 2 (06:19):
There was a this was a number of years ago
and this was in Wilmer, and it was a case
where a man murdered his mom and buried her at
the end of a camper where they lived. We had
we couldn't navigate the roads, it was such bash shape.
We had to wait on a deputy with a pickup

(06:41):
I was in homicide at the time. I had to
wait on a deputy with a pickup truck and we
all piled in the back of that pickup truck just
to be able to get to the scene. Wow. Okay,
so you know that the you know that suspect drove
before wheel drive, you know, lifted a little bit, so
we had no problem getting in and out. So that
was probably the most you know, interesting way to get

(07:03):
to a scene.

Speaker 1 (07:04):
And nowadays does the Sheriff's Department use drones things like
that on kind of up to date technology.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
We have a very robust drone program. We've and they've
been hugely successful in finding you know, missing children, missing
adults with maybe some challenges who wander out to the woods.
The drones that we have, you know, have fleer on
them so we can see at night and hugely successful

(07:31):
in finding people, you know, a lot faster than walking
through the woods trying to find them.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Okay, all right, have you have you wanted on your
wish list? Have you ever wanted helicopters and planes and
tanks and stuff like that.

Speaker 2 (07:43):
A helicopter. There are two big things on my wish
list that that is. One is a helicopter mobile has
the terrain to justify that, and you know, with the
different municipalities to include the city and out in the county,
I think it could be lized on a daily basis.
And then I would like a mobile command center, you know,

(08:05):
a motor home type mobile command center that it for
disasters or any kind of you know, mass event we
can deploy that. The ones that they build for law
enforcement nowadays have a medical station in the back where
you can tre odds, you know, whether it's law enforcement
or citizens. And you know, that's how I'm a wish

(08:26):
list too, and we have been searching for grants for both.
And if any of the air busts people are listening. Hint, hint,
I really want a helicopter.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
Very nice, you know what to put in Sheriff Paul
Birch's Christmas stock in this year. All right, We're going
to take a quick time out and come back with
more for Mobile County Sheriff Paul Birch right back after traffic,
weather and words from our sponsors. Here on news Radio
seventy ten WNTM. Listening to the Uncle Henry Show, it

(09:05):
says thee Uncle Henry Show here on news radio seven
to ten WNTM. We have news headlines coming up. In
ten minutes. Before we get to the news headlines, we
continue our conversation with Mobile County Sheriff Paul Birch Shreff Birch.
We're here in the final month of the year as
we do this radio show together. People are still out
and about doing Christmas shopping and it gets wilder and

(09:27):
more crowded out at retail establishments as the month goes on.
What are some basics for people. I know there's always
somebody out there that it's never heard of before, So
what are some basics on staying safe while you're out
doing all that shopping?

Speaker 2 (09:41):
You know, and not much has changed over the years
in that regard. Other than when you're shopping, going from
your vehicle to the park to the store, walking through
the parking lot or back, get your face out of
your cellphone, you know, put your cell phone in your purse,
put in your hand, but watch where you going. Be

(10:01):
aware of your surroundings. You know, I still see it
every day. You know, people walk in front of cars
that you know aren't paying attention. Going to the store.
Just you know, get your face out of the phone,
and always always be mindfull of your surroundings. Parking near
light as best you can. If you're shopping at night,
you know, especially if you're a female, and if you

(10:25):
need to do that kind of shopping, take a couple
of friends with you rather than shop alone. And just
there's always safety in numbers. And I'm a big proponent.
If you are comfortable carrying a concealed weapon, then be
proficient with it, and carry a concealed weapon, you know,
to avoid being a victim.

Speaker 1 (10:44):
Last time you were here, you talked to me about
guns because my wife has expressed an interest in getting
a gun in the new year and learning how to
use one. Getting the proper gun. Other than guns. What
are your thoughts on the non lethal stuff that people
buy for their wives and families all over the place.

Speaker 2 (11:05):
Yeah, I mean that there's a variety. There are of
options there. You know. One of the you know, pepper
spray is one, but it can be challenging because the
person using it can be exposed to and that typically
is the case with any kind of wind blowing or anything.
One of the best things is an air horn. You know.

(11:27):
They make little small air horns, no more than about
four inches tall to fit in the purse, and they
are extremely loud, and that draws attention to what's going on. Now.
Is that going to stop, you know, or physically stop somebody? No,
but it draws attention, you know to hopefully bystanders who
will see and intervene. You know that there there are

(11:49):
some taser options that but again, those are things you
need to be familiar with and be proficient with. I
know some people who have bought those for their you know, wives, daughters,
and then hadn't changed the batteries in three or four years,
and so they're no good.

Speaker 1 (12:04):
Well, it's about their own peace of mind, right, Well,
I gave them a taser, They're going to be fine.

Speaker 2 (12:08):
Yep so, But but again a lot of that can
be avoided if you're just mindful of your surroundings. You know,
if you are circling through the parking lot looking for
a spot, you see somebody hanging out, or maybe a
group of people sitting in a car, you know, when
and they're not in their shopping go to the next aisle.
In part, you know, because typically in those kind of cases,

(12:34):
if if someone is sitting in a car looking to
either snatch a purse or you know, conduct a robbery,
they're going to get somebody parking right next to them
where they can get in and get out, and those
vehicles will often be backed into a parking spot. Okay,
quickly get out. All the matter been where surroundings.

Speaker 1 (12:53):
Do you ever get reports of people who believe they're
being followed inside of retail establishments, they're not even out
in the parking lot and they think something sketchy is
going on inside the store.

Speaker 2 (13:04):
We do. And actually I had a personal encounter with that.
At attended an event last week and this young lady
came up and said, look, you know pointed it.

Speaker 1 (13:16):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
It was at a local restaurant downtown and a friend
of hers brought her up to him and said, look
this guy and pointed him out. He approached me two
different times at a local store at the mall, commented
about me or rings. You know, I ignored him, moved on,
did it again, and then she gets to this event,

(13:39):
which was a well attended event. Five minutes later, he
shows up sitting at the bar, and you know he
was not part of that party. So you know, we
made sure we identified him, and and a lot of
times I said, deterrent, if he was thinking of something,
he now knows that you know who he is.

Speaker 1 (14:01):
Yes, and how did that work? Did did they go
over and say, hey, that's the sheriff and you waved
down him, or how did that work? That would be
a great to turn if you're introduced to the sheriff.

Speaker 2 (14:12):
I walked up and try. Of course, he recognized who
I was, so tried to chat him up a little
bit and said hey let's get a Picture's get a
holiday picture. He did not want his picture taken.

Speaker 1 (14:25):
Oh really, Okay.

Speaker 2 (14:27):
We were able to do some things that the police
do and identify who he was. And so when I
walked out, I said, all right, Corney, yes you have
a good night. The look on his face was priceless.

Speaker 1 (14:39):
Wow wy wow wow. So so is the advice then
that people also need to be situationally aware, even inside,
especially like big box stores.

Speaker 2 (14:48):
Absolutely, you know again, shop with your friends. Their safety
in numbers. And if you think something's not right, go
find an employee and let him know, you know. Or
if you see a family that you know, hey, you know,
you mind if I walk with yall for a little bit.
You know, so I's not right with this guy, and
you know that's an easy solution.

Speaker 1 (15:09):
Can Can you also whip out your phone and call
somebody while you're there.

Speaker 2 (15:14):
You can take a picture of them. There's nothing illegal
about taking a picture of somebody.

Speaker 1 (15:21):
Now, Sheriff Birch And again, if you just tuned in,
we're talking with Mobile County Sheriff Paul Birch here on
the Ouklah Henry Show. We're here in the final month
of the year, and this is a time of year
where we get lots of messages in media about not
driving drunk, about not driving under the influence of drugs.
Uh has and this has been all of our adult lives.

(15:42):
We've heard these messages. Has it gotten any better? Are
are there less du wise than there used.

Speaker 2 (15:48):
To be overall? I would say yes with good with
you know, with the push and advertising and people realizing
how serious the consequences are and the available of these
ride share programs have you know, I think made a
huge difference. And there are some commercials out there. So
I'm not trying to steal somebody's phrase. But you know,

(16:13):
Uber rides much cheaper than a dui charge. Yes, so
I said, there's a little catchy thing that they do
for it. But but but that's true. I mean, a
ride downtown might cost you twenty bucks, it's going to
toss you ten twelve thousand dollars for a dui?

Speaker 1 (16:28):
Are there? I'm going to guess that there are more
people that get pulled over and they're not on alcohol,
they're on something else? Am I wrong about that?

Speaker 2 (16:37):
That is is becoming more frequent, okay, and especially and
it's it's so much harder to detect nowadays that you
have all these gummies and towns that don't give off
an older and you know, but you've got that same
demeanor that is if somebody's been drinking, and so it

(16:58):
just got to take it a step further and you know,
the officer has to make that determination of whether they
believe they're impaired or not. You know, but along with
the driving impaired is equally dangerous is driving distracted you know,
with your face and the phone.

Speaker 1 (17:17):
Sheriff Birch, we have to take a time out for news.
I want to come right back to that when we
continue our conversation. We're going to continue our conversation with
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Birch after the news break. We
have traffic and news headlines coming up, and then more
with Sheriff Birch. I want to talk to you about
distracted driving and other things that happen in vehicles this
time of year. Back with more from Mobile County Sheriff

(17:41):
Paul Birch after the break Here on w n t M.
It says the Uncle Henry Show. Here on new Here's
Radio seven to ten WNTM our guest today Mobio County

(18:04):
Sheriff Paul Birch, back for a December visit. In the
last segment of the show, before we went to the
news break, we were talking about driving duy, driving on
drugs or who knows what, and you brought up distracted driving.
How big a problem from law enforcement standpoint is distracted driving?

(18:26):
Because for those of us that aren't in law enforcement,
we may not see somebody run into somebody, but we
certainly get stuck behind people that we know they're not
paying attention to anything. So is it a big Is
it a big deal for law enforcement?

Speaker 2 (18:39):
It is a big deal. It's a big deal for
the community. I would venture to say that there are
probably more accidents and mostly minor accidents and calls by
distracted driving than there are from DUIs, Okay. And because
I see it every day, and I know the general
public does to, and you can typically tell they're going,

(19:02):
usually under the speed limit and bumping the lines because
they're not paying attention. They're they're looking at that phone
rather than paying attention to where they're.

Speaker 1 (19:10):
Going, Uh, Sheriff. It's made me wonder, and I said,
I'm sure as you. I know. You said, I keep
wondering why there aren't more people getting run over by
cars because I see it in neighborhoods, even more than
out on on an airport boulevard. Somebody driving through a
residential neighborhood not their eyes aren't on the road at all,

(19:32):
And I don't know how more people aren't getting run down.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
Well, I agree with you, thankfully, those who are pedestrians,
you know, most know to pay attention nowadays, you know,
thankfully you know, and you know to go along with
the distracted driving and such. You know, what I see
every day and it just infuriates me is people running

(19:56):
red lights. And I'm not talking passing through and the
light changes as you're going under it. I'm talking blatantly
blowing through a red light at full speed. And you know,
I try to take it. Even though my daughter's younger.
We talk about these things. And I'll say this to
the public. When you approach an intersection, you know, when

(20:18):
you're sitting at a red light and your light changes green,
wait three or four seconds and look check the intersection
really well before you proceed through, because there are a
bunch of idiots who just blatantly blow through the red lights.

Speaker 1 (20:33):
Is there is there any percentage of those idiots that
are also distracted drivers? Because I've seen some people go
through red lights that I thought no sane human being
would have ever made that move, And it makes me
wonder if they weren't even looking.

Speaker 2 (20:48):
You know, some of it that could be attributed to
but I think a lot of it is just people
being impatient, you know, and it gets it can get frustrating.
Mobile has some work to do on their light cycle,
and you know there are some that are much longer
than others. You know, there's a couple that I sit
at in the mornings that there's nothing coming. You're you know,

(21:08):
the entire time you're there, and you're sitting there for
three or four minutes, you know of your travel time,
and so I can see the frustrating part. But risking
someone's life is not worth it. And you know, if
you're in that big a hurry, leave five minutes earlier
to get where you're trying to go.

Speaker 1 (21:25):
So we're gonna have Christmas Eve, We're gonna have New
Year's Eve? Uh? Is it is it more dangerous those
nights to be driving because of people out partying?

Speaker 2 (21:36):
It will be you know, there's gonna be parties and
people are going to you know, families' homes, whether they're
partying or not. You know, there's just large gathering. So
anytime you have more vehicles on the road, you know,
those risks of an accident increase just by nature. But
you know, with all that, a lot of these issues

(21:59):
can be solved is just just be courteous. You know,
if you see somebody trying to get it, let them
in traffic instead of people blowing horns at one another.
And you know that as again, that's something I talk
about with my daughter and when we are going to
school and all that, because she she noticed that I
always let people in when they're trying to merge. If
they're trying to come out of a parking lot, I'll

(22:20):
stop and let them commit same thing going through a
parking lot shopping. You know, don't don't rush around and
get somebody's be courteous.

Speaker 1 (22:29):
Now, Sheriff, what is it like for law enforcement? And
I know you can speak to this from all your
years of being in it, What is it like to
work in December for law enforcement? Is is it more challenging?
Is it any of the Is it just like any
other month? Or is there more challenges in December?

Speaker 2 (22:45):
There are a few more challenges. We try to pay
much closer attention to the residential areas, you know, to
you know, watch for porch pirates and people stealing, and
you know that's something that's always you know, it's happens
throughout the year, but it's more prevalent during the holidays
because these thugs know that, you know, people are ordering

(23:06):
packages Christmas presents, and you know, we've had a few
of those that have made the news lately that we
were able to track down quickly. But another thing I
will say is is kind of goes along with that
is collect your mail daily. You know, if you have
somebody at home that can go out and get the
mail around the time that mail comes, you know, because

(23:30):
these bad guys are looking for gift cards and you know,
maybe new credit cards that are coming in. And the
reason I bring that up is I got notified on
Monday that some of my wife and i is mail
was found at a house at a search for one
out in Grand Bay. Oh wow, so your mail our
neighborhood got hit and so you know, but but we

(23:50):
are pretty we check it every day, but our mail
carrier is not always consistent on the times that that
she prides through. But so, yes, I've got several pieces
of my mail was found out there.

Speaker 1 (24:02):
How about that somebody robbing the sheriff going into the
sheriff's mailbox.

Speaker 2 (24:08):
They're they're they're currently a well taken care of guests
to my hotel.

Speaker 1 (24:13):
I'm sure they are. I'm sure they are.

Speaker 2 (24:15):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (24:15):
What about for law enforcement during the month of December
with with holidays, is it is it at all psychologically
difficult for some officers because they've gotta they've got to
pull those shifts.

Speaker 2 (24:28):
It is, you know there we talked about pay earlier.
The you know, these young officers, you know, have young
families that they're trying to provide for and here it
is Christmas. You have things to buy. So not only
are they performing their you know, daily duties, a lot
most of them are working side jobs too to be

(24:48):
able to make that extra pay, to be able to
provide a nice Christmas for the family. So it December
is a stressful and tiring month for law enforcement as
a whole and engine just dealing with the different issues
that go along with with people.

Speaker 1 (25:05):
And then you have to uh get geared up for
Marti Gras and all that good stuff. Uh, real quick
before we go to break This may be a silly question,
uh to a lot of people, but I encounter people
all the time that don't seem to know the answer. Uh.
When I get pulled over, when someone gets pulled over
by a law enforcement officer on the highway. How should

(25:26):
they behave to minimize any kind of a problem just
to make it go smooth.

Speaker 2 (25:30):
Well, first, it's just be polite. You know. Usually the
aucer will tell you why you were pulled over. But
it helps too to have your license, registration and those
kind of things all in one envelope that's easily accessible,
you know, and hand that to the also with the
driver's license. Now, if it's not easy accessible, I would
strongly advised against, you know, wandering into your glove box

(25:53):
or into your console. You know, that's going to cost
kind of a heightened sense of what's going on inside
the car. So yeah, for instance, my wife keeps it
above the visor on the passenger's side, so shease reach
over get it. It's all right there, and you know,
but again, kindness goes a long ways on both sides.

Speaker 1 (26:13):
All right, we're going to take a time out and
then we'll have our remaining moments here with Mobile County
Sheriff Paul Birch here on the Uncle Henry Show. A
reminder that if if you missed part of the show
and you want to listen to it again, it is
available as a podcast. You can find that show at
NewsRadio seventy ten dot com look under podcasts, or go
to the iHeartRadio app and look up the Uncle Henry

(26:34):
Show on the iHeartRadio app. Back with More with Sheriff Birch.
After the break, it says the Uncle Henry Show our
guest this hour, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Birch making his

(26:55):
appearance for the month of December. We talked about trying
to stay as safe as possible this month, and the
last segment, shear Perch. I asked you just the basic
question of how to act during a traffic stop. And
the reason I want you to know why I asked
such a basic question is that lately, I've seen lots
and lots of viral videos on social media of people

(27:18):
being pulled over by police thinking that they don't have
to answer any questions show their driver's license. And you
may have seen these kind of things too, and it
just it looks so so silly. So and your advice
is just have all the info ready and be polite.

Speaker 2 (27:33):
Have everything available in one, you know, envelope whatever, Be
really polite. If it's dark time or nighttime, you get
pulled over, it don't hurt to turn on your interior light.
You know, before the loss was walking up that way,
they can see inside the car. You know, make sure
your hands are visible. And but yeah, those you know,

(27:54):
kind of agitators, they do that. They've got their phone filming,
you know, trying to get clicks or whatever that stuff is.
But but you know, if that license is a license
to operate a vehicle on the road, so those who
just refuse to do anything usually end up in jail.

(28:15):
And so, yeah, you have to provide a driver's license
if you're operating a vehicle on the roadways.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
Uh, how often does does it happen often that a
sheriff deputy pulls somebody over for whatever reason and they
don't speak English at all? Does that happen?

Speaker 2 (28:32):
It has happened on more than one occasion. We we
do have a couple of Spanish speakers on the department
and we h and and there are services available that
we can call as well and do it through the phone,
you know, put them on speaker. And then we also
have an also that speaks Vietnamese, so that you know,

(28:56):
But but that does happen. I mean, we look at
the demographics of of howmobiles laid out, you know, we
have we have both.

Speaker 1 (29:03):
Now, Uh, we're almost out of time here for for
this hour Sheriff Birds Now. Uh. In the last couple
of episodes where you've come in and talked on the
Uncle Heerws Show, we've talked about the jail and and
the difficulty of running the jail. What is it like? Uh?
What is Christmas like at the jail? Is there is
there anything a Christmas cookie anything like that at the jail?

(29:27):
Or is it just the jail?

Speaker 2 (29:28):
It is just like any other day, you know, and
you know there was a time, you know, under a
couple of administrations ago that you know, they they received
holiday you know type meals really you know, but being
in jail is supposed to be a deterrent, not right. Yeah,
So it's just like any other day.

Speaker 1 (29:46):
Just like any other day. Uh. What about all for
all the employees of the uh the Sheriff's department of
the jail, do you have good Christmas parties?

Speaker 2 (29:55):
We do, We have a few different Christmas parties. Obviously
we can't get entire department together. Last month we did
our annual employee lunching and it's you know, kind of
a combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and so we get
everybody there the jet. You know, we get food out
to our dispatchers because they obviously can't leave, and you know,

(30:17):
the jail employees will rotate, you know, the ones off
duty will come eat and then go relieve the ones
who can come across the street where they can come eat.
And so that is one time for us to all
get together as a family.

Speaker 1 (30:30):
Is morale always on your mind?

Speaker 2 (30:32):
It is, and it's a top priority for me. And
because I run the Sheriff's office like a family, and
I challenge if you find a Sheriff's employee, whether it's
a deputy or Christ's auicer, if you ask them how
I run it, that will probably be the response that

(30:52):
you get.

Speaker 1 (30:53):
Well, I remember when we met and you talked to
me about your experience in law enforcement, and plus youre
families experience in law enforcement. I would think that you
would you would kind of know almost instinctively from living
at what what people need for that what what they
need for good morale?

Speaker 2 (31:12):
You do, I mean, it's it's obviously there are some
tangible things, but most of the time it's just the
you know, hey, thank you, you doing a great job, you know.
Or if I see some of whether it's MPD or
some of the Sheriff's office personnel out at lunch, you know,
I pick up their lunch and and and thank them

(31:32):
for the job they're doing, and because I really mean
that it's a tough job.

Speaker 1 (31:38):
All right, Well, we're we're almost out of time here.
We've got a about a minute left in the show.
How do you like to spend Christmas?

Speaker 2 (31:47):
Tip? It? Every year we hold it at my house.
Now we do we do a Christmas Eve celebration. You know.
It's my wife and mother, you know, or of Latin descent,
so Christmas Eve is their big day. And what we
used to do before my dad passed. His birthday is

(32:08):
Christmas Eve, so oh wow, we would do a big
party the weekend before for him, so because otherwise he
got cheated, right yeah, So yeah, it's just a big
family gathering and you know, we'll all get together on
Christmas Eve and then you know, I've got grandchildren now,
so Christmas Day we'll do our thing at our house
then go you know, see my other children and my grandkids.

Speaker 1 (32:30):
And so well, we're just about out of time here.
Sheriff Paul Birch, thank you for coming in and doing this,
and thank you. I want to wish and Merry Christmas
to you and everybody at the Sheriff's Department the jail
for all the hard work that you put in. I
know it's not an easy.

Speaker 2 (32:46):
Job, nobody, it's a fun job. I love my job.

Speaker 1 (32:50):
But glad to hear that. But Merry Christmas.

Speaker 2 (32:53):
Merry Christmas to all the listeners out there, and you'll
be safe all right.

Speaker 1 (32:57):
And again if you want to listen to this show again,
available as a podcast at NewsRadio seven ten dot com
and on the iHeartRadio app. Just look for Uncle Henry
Show on the iHeartRadio app. We have news headlines coming
up here on news Radio seven ten WNTM, and then
more Uncle Henry's Show