MARSHALL COUNTY, Alabama — Thursday marked two years since Marshall County Sheriff Phil Sims was sworn into office.
Sims was sworn in on January 14, 2019, but before he could take it all in, he had to get to work.
"Immediately when I came back to the Sheriff's Office, I was in a suit and tie and I had to change clothes, because the jail started acting up real bad," said Sims. "We wound up from about five o'clock in the afternoon until past midnight going in and shaking the jail."
During the shakedown, drugs, knives, and more than 30 cell phones were found.
"That night was a very stressful night," said Sims.
Since then, he hasn't slowed down. Sims started an awards program to show his appreciation for his deputies and staff, brought back and expanded Project Lifesaver, and increased the community watch program.
Things were going according to plan for Sims until the pandemic hit. COVID-19 put several of his plans on hold.
"It's heartbreaking because we were moving on really well, but we'll get back. We'll get back to where we need to be," said Sims.
Sims is working to put a school resource deputy in each county school and start drug prevention classes in the schools. When the pandemic hit, both programs came to a stand still.
Sims said, "We were in the process of hiring our last four SROs at the time, and so we didn't get to hire them right then because schools had shut down. I didn't have anywhere to put them."
Sims continues to work toward his goals, even with the challenges of the pandemic. He says they are working now to hire on two of the four SROs to help finish out this school year.
Sims says one of his top priorities is renovating the jail, but due to the pandemic, the they are about 8 to 10 months behind.
"Suppliers, contractors shut down," said Sims. "It was hard to get supplies in. I mean, it is still kind of hard to get supplies in right now."
Sims says they are pushing forward with their architects to finish the renovations. He hopes they will be going out for bids within the next two months.
Fortunately, before COVID-19 made it's way to Marshall County, the Sheriff's Office brought in a 24/7 medical staff.
"Thank goodness they were here when the virus hit, because they helped us implement medical protocols not just for the inmates, but for our employees also," said Sims.
Despite the challenges, the Sheriff's Office moved to Class B uniforms. Now, their uniforms are more comfortable and durable. Sims says the deputies now wear vests rather than the traditional gear belts to prevent long term hip and back problems.
Deputies also have new weapons and updated lap tops in their vehicles. Sims says five new patrol cars are also on the way.
Sims has several more goals. In his third year, he wants to add more personnel, start a K-9 patrol unit, and build a training center.
"We've got plans for it now. We've got a place we can put a training center that we believe is going to work," said Sims. "That's where we'll have our civilian firearm training classes at some point in time."
Sims says one of the biggest challenges is overcrowding in the jail. They have 196 beds, and as of Thursday, the jail was holding 286 inmates.
"A lot of those are state inmates. The state is not picking up inmates right now because of COVID," said Sims.
Sims says the jail was designed as a work release type facility and not meant to be minimum security. He says the jail renovations address the issue and will be turned into a true minimum security jail.
WATCH: Pandemic halts construction at the Marshall County Jail