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The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office provides 24-hour services for the protection of life and property and the preservation of the public peace in Stephens County. The Sheriff is responsible for a wide variety of duties relating to both civil and criminal matters.

The Sheriff’s Office enforces federal, state and local laws and ordinances, investigates all crimes in the county and arrests violators. Deputies also serve criminal warrants, civil papers and subpoenas, execute evictions, transport prisoners to court, provide security for State, Superior, Magistrate and Juvenile Courts and  juries and the Stephens County Courthouse. Deputies also patrol the county’s roads and highways, enforcing traffic laws and investigating traffic accidents.

The Sheriff is also responsible for the administration of the jail, the physical health and welfare of all inmates in the jail and the management of their property and money.

The Sheriff’s Office also serves as a source of crime prevention and safety information, providing lectures and programs to community groups, civic associations, and schoolchildren of all ages. Deputies also assist victims of crime, accidents, injury and misfortune whenever possible.

Sheriff Randy Shirley was elected in 2008. Prior to his election, he was chief of the Lavonia Police Department from 1999 to 2008, during which time the agency obtained state certification and formed an investigation division. Sheriff Shirley served with the Toccoa Police Department as a police officer from 1974 to 1980, the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office as an investigator from 1980 to 1996 and the Georgia Department of Labor in Atlanta from 1996 to 1999 as an agent.

Sheriff Shirley graduated Cum Laude in 1987 from Brenau University, earning his Bachelor of Science in Public Administration and Criminal Justice. While in school he was on the National Dean’s list 1984-1985 and 1985-1986, in Who’s Who among students in American Universities and Colleges, and was a member of Phi Beta Sigma. He graduated from Stephens County High School in 1973.