Franklin County Sheriff “Big Jim” Karnes
In 1993 the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) targeted Franklin County, Ohio for the first ever county-wide DUI Task Force in the state of Ohio. This was based upon the number of alcohol related traffic crash deaths which occurred in the previous year. Twenty-one fatalities ranked Franklin County second highest in the state of Ohio that year.
Franklin County has a population of 1.5 million residences and is 543 square miles. Over a million vehicles are registered in the county. Currently there are over 500 habitual offenders (five or more DUI convictions) living in Franklin County.
The Franklin County DUI Task Force was formed to identify and assess the impaired driving problem in Franklin County and to develop an action plan that incorporates both enforcement and education to address the problem.
Over the past years the Task Force has developed highly visible enforcement activities in the form of sobriety checkpoints and county-wide DUI patrols. We understand that enforcement activities when associated with holidays or special events are a great deterrent to drinking and driving.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) and Ohio Traffic Safety Office, utilizes federal grant money to fund the county wide task force. Currently the Task Force is made of all 31 law enforcement agencies and six support groups such as, MADD, Franklin Co. Municipal Court, Franklin Co. Engineer’s Office and Traffic and Public Safety organizations. Learn ….MORE about the efforts of the Franklin County Sheriff’s DUI Task Force
Franklin County’s 50th Sheriff began his law enforcement career with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy in the Corrections Division in 1963. Throughout his career, he progressed through the ranks and supervised many divisions within the office, before retiring as a Lieutenant in 1992. He was elected Sheriff in 1992, and to date has been serving the people of Franklin County for over forty four (44) years. As of August 5, 2007 he is the longest serving sheriff in Franklin County history.
Learn more about Franklin County Sheriff “Big Jim” Karnes
