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SHERIFF SILLS SAYS....

The Office of Sheriff is one of the oldest offices of government in the history of the world. The first known reference to sheriffs came from the prophet Daniel in the Bible where King Nebuchadnezzar summoned all the sheriffs before him some 500 years before the birth of Christ. The Office of Sheriff is the oldest elected office in western civilization. There are written records from Anglo-Saxon England in 500 AD that mention the election of “Reeves” by the common people. The term “Reeve” later evolved into the “Shire Reeve” when groups of reeves combined to form Shires. The Shires later evolved into counties. Those ancient Shire Reeves served not only as the law enforcement officer of their communities, but also as the military commanders and representatives of both the Lords and the people in that feudal era. Sheriffs in old England ceased to be elected after William the Conqueror arrived in 1066 and were thereafter appointed by the crown.

Thomas Jefferson, author of our nation’s constitution, wrote in 1812, “the Office of Sheriff is the most important of all the executive offices of the county.” Recognizing the importance of this position, our forefathers firmly planted the Office of Sheriff in our Constitution as an autonomous office answerable to the people by election.

Georgia law provides that sheriffs are the chief law enforcement officers of their counties and keepers of the county jail. I have no mission statement for my office as the Georgia Supreme Court clearly defined our mission long ago when it said, “the Office of Sheriff carries with it the duty to preserve the peace, and protect the lives, persons, property, health, and morals of the people.”

I am both honored and humbled to hold this venerable office. The good people of Putnam County have graciously chosen me to hold this office for almost 16 years now. It is my sincere desire to protect the public in a professional, fair, efficient manner, and I hope to continue do so for as long as the citizens will have me.

Howard R. Sills, Sheriff

Putnam County

ABOUT SHERIFF SILLS

Sheriff Howard R. Sills is a native of Putnam County and can trace his family lineage in the community back to the era prior to 1807 when what is now Putnam County was still Baldwin County. He began his law enforcement career with the Bulloch County (Statesboro,GA) Sheriff’s Office in 1974. He later served as a detective in the Fugitive and Intelligence Units of the DeKalb County Sheriff & Police Departments. He was employed as Director of Security for Peachtree Bank of Atlanta, which later merged with the Trust Company of Georgia (now Suntrust Banks) where he was a Vice President in Corporate Security. Sheriff Sills moved home to Putnam County in 1986 and was employed by the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office where he served as the Chief Deputy Sheriff under Sheriff Bill Massee until being elected Sheriff of Putnam County in 1996.

Sheriff Sills attended Young Harris College, Georgia Southern University, and has a B.S. Degree in Criminal Justice from Mercer University. He is a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy and National Sheriffs' Institute. He serves as President of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association and is also the long time chair of the sheriffs' legislative committee. The Sheriff is married to Janet Williams Sills who is a quality engineer at Triumph Aerostructures in Milledgeville and has one son, Taylor Rossee Sills who is a recent graduate of the University of Georgia.