Sheriff’s office adds new nonemergency number

Contacting employees at the Shelby County Sheriff’s office is about to get easier. Effective Oct. 1, the department launched a new nonemergency phone number: 205-670-6000.

Capt. Jay Fondren said switching to the new number is an effort to give the public one number they can remember. The old number, 205-669-4181, will still work and will roll over to the new one.

“We will now have a really robust phone tree, which should make our office and deputies more accessible by phone,” Fondren said. “In the past, it’s been difficult to reach an individual. We will also update the directory on our website for all administrative staff and jail staff.”

Sheriff John Samaniego said the change is a result of their phone system changing.

“Everything used to begin with 669, and being 670 for some time now, this is a natural progression to that and something we can market a little easier,” he said. “We have used 911 for 16 years doing our dispatch, and we’ve progressively moved toward them taking over all our communication needs with the exception of this new number.”

The old number will still ring at 911 for callers, but this will designate to the public a nonemergency number, so the department can focus on 911 for emergencies and 670-6000 for nonemergency services. It will be monitored 24/7.

When someone calls the new number, they will be prompted to choose from the following options: jail, records, administrative division, criminal investigative division, patrol division or speak with a deputy about a nonemergency call for service. Both English and Spanish options are available.

The new nonemergency number directory will also be available on the website at shelbyso.com/direc-tory.aspx. Employees with an office desk and dedicated number will be listed and able to be reached directly.

“We are trying to continue our policy on transparency and try to connect with the public as much as possible so they can openly communicate whenever they need us,” Samaniego said. “We are trying to improve the avenue of communication with this new system and make sure people have the ability to contact us.”

Samaniego said the department will also be launching a phone app soon that will be similar to the website and hopes to launch it around the same time as the new number.

Samaniego stressed for the public use 911 services for emergencies. He said many times there are 911 situations and people are looking up numbers to call instead of dialing 911.

“That impedes us from doing our job because of the delay,” he said. “People are so nice and say they didn’t want to bother us, but that’s what we are here for — to deliver services to you if you need us.”

Fondren added if there is ever a question of which number to call, always dial 911.