Joseph Scott Gittings, Age 63, 275 Boyce Drive, Chester, WV.
Wife- Kelly McCullough Gittings, Children- Aura Myers and husband Justin, Joseph Gittings, Joshua Gittings, Jarrett Gittings Jacob Gittings wife Grace, and Ava Gittings
Grandchildren- Desmond, Claire, Blakeleigh and Lainee
Brother-in-law- Sam McCullough
Graduated from Oak Glen High School, certifications- Graduated the WV Police Academy in Jan of 1981; WV Law Enforcement Certified
Dec 1979 to Aug of 1992: New Cumberland Police Dept- Patrol then Chief of Police for last 4 years. Aug 1992 Retired Nov 2015: Hancock County Sheriff Office- Other than normal Patrol I was assigned to the K9 unit for 10 yrs, Court Bailiff, Evidence Custodian and School Resource Officer. Nov 2015 to Dec 2020: Deputy Chief of the Chester Police Department. Jan 2021 to Present: Hancock County Sheriff. Other law enforcement affiliations are *Past President and Executive Board Member of the WV Deputy Sheriffs Association *Past Executive Board Member of the WV Police Canine Association *Member of the WV Sheriff’s Association *National Sheriffs Association *International Chiefs of Police *Hancock County Deputy Sheriff Association *Weirton FOP Lodge 84.
What prompted you to run for Sheriff? It was not a last-minute decision as I started thinking about it in 2018. I looked at what I could bring to the office, what the needs of the Sheriff’s Office were along with the needs of the citizens of Hancock County and the effect it would have on my family life. I understand what the citizens and different areas of the county need from the sheriff’s office and feel I have a good understanding of what needs to be done.
What do you view as Hancock County’s greatest law enforcement problem/s and what have you done or plan to do to address the problem/s. We live in a great community. It’s not a high crime area and we have a lot of members of this community who are committed to making this a great place to live. But, still have our problem areas, Saying that, the drug problem is always a major concern and what it brings along with as in more thefts and other property crimes. Over the last 4 years we have made improvements with the Local Drug Task Force mainly in the communication and interaction between the Task Force and the Sheriff’s Office. I have a constant line of communication with the Task Force and the Sheriff’s Office. The entire Sheriff’s Office works to ensure they get what they need from the Sheriff’s office, and we get what we need from them. The 2nd way we attack the problem is with the Patrol Units being very active in drug interdiction and several Deputies well trained in drug investigation. Another way we are proactive in this is to get more patrols in the community. Since I took office, when we are fully staffed, we have realigned personnel to have 5 deputies on each shift. This is to get more patrols in all areas, especially where needed. The rise in child neglect is another factor in the drug problem in which las enforcement works with. Our first concern is the safety of the children. We notify Child Protective Services and work with them to make sure the children are cared for. I believe this is another area where the Deputies do very good work investigating and at times making arrests when the situation calls for it. Another problem is Juvenile crimes and we have become very active in addressing these crimes. A lot of petty thefts and property crimes are committed by juveniles, and we have seen this problem in schools. I know our Prevention Resource Officers (PROs) have done many investigations which led to arrests for crimes involving the school and the Patrol Deputies have been more aggressive when working with these individuals. The PROs do a good job in aiding the Patrol units by helping to identify some of these juveniles and getting information for the investigators. Our PROs also have a positive effect on the juvenile crime rate by working with kids in the school and building trust to help sway juveniles away from crime. We have also tackled the school safety issues. Many of the changes and improvements we have made while working closely with the Weirton Police Dept. and the Hancock County Schools Administration. All situations were handled quickly by the Weirton Police and the Sheriff’s Office because both agencies have the right plans in place. We will continue to work with Weirton and Chester Police to make sure we have the proper planning in place to deal with any issue that may arise. School safety is a major concern, and we have made sure that there is an officer in every school every day and Weirton Police have made that same commitment. Chester Police have also assisted us with filling in at the school in Chester when we are unable to. Lastly, I believe another problem for Law Enforcement is hiring and retaining qualified personnel. We have worked with the Hancock County Commission to increase the wages to make them competitive with surrounding agencies. We have updated equipment and provide training opportunities to provide the best working environment possible. There are many issues facing law enforcement in this ever-changing world. You must have the foresight to work through it and that’s where training comes in play, not with just the deputies but with myself. One of my biggest assets is having over 44 years of constant law enforcement experience. I have seen many changes in law enforcement. I have prided myself on adapting to those changes and preparing for changes to come while still providing quality law enforcement. I will continue to Protect and Serve the Citizens of Hancock County and most importantly to Protect and Honor the Constitution of the United States and of the Great State of WV.
Scott Gittings
