Wheeler’s New Sheriff Committed To Serving and Protecting County
Wheeler County’s new Sheriff Glenn Giles is adamantly committed to serving and protecting the citizens in his county, and he has set a high bar for the performance of both himself and his staff. He is also focused on visibility, transparency, and maintaining an open door policy.
Giles assumed his role on January 1 after winning the Republican primary election in May by defeating two-term Sheriff Randy Rigdon. There were no Democratic contenders.
Coming into his new job with decades of experience in law enforcement and public safety, Giles has already implemented new policies
NEW SHERIFF – Wheeler County Sheriff Glen Giles, seated, is shown with Deputy Scott Spires. Giles assumed his new role on January 1 and among his priorities is building trust in the community. Sheriff Giles has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience for his new role, most recently serving as Chief of Police for the McRae-Helena Police Department. continued from page
because of issues he previously identified in the county and made part of his platform for seeking the office. One of these changes — his first priority — is making sure the county always has two deputies on duty and patrolling on every shift. “The first line of defense in any situation is officer presence,” he stressed. A deputy cannot be as proactive in preventing crime without the backup of at least one more officer, he maintained, adding that not doing so is “not fair to the community or to the officers.”
Having two officers per shift is certainly safer for the officers and the citizens in a mostly rural territory of Wheeler’s size — 300 square miles. “One officer could be a long way away from help in this county in an emergency,” he acknowledged. The Sheriff, as a Constitutional officer, is the highest-ranking law enforcement entity in the community, but can tap into many state and local resources for assistance. Currently, the Sheriff’s Office provides the only law enforcement for the municipality of Glenwood, which contracted for this service after closing its police department several years ago. Alamo has its own police force.
Since taking office, Sheriff Giles has been honing his staff. He has a minimum number of deputies he plans to hire; but he needs the equipment — including vehicles — to put deputies on the road and in the community. “The County Commission has been phenomenal in their support,” he said of the governmental body that furnishes the Sheriff’s budget. In addition to running the law enforcement arm of the office, the Sheriff is responsible for operating the Wheeler County Jail, located in the same building as his office, and fulfilling judicial responsibilities at the Wheeler County Courthouse in the county seat of Alamo.
Sheriff Giles will also endeavor to reduce crime by aggressively attacking the drug trade in the community. Through the years, he has developed relationships with many law enforcement agencies which can aid him and his deputies in this task.
Another project for the Sheriff’s Office will be enhancing communications through technology upgrades. One of these initiatives will involve setting up Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) at the Sheriff’s Office. “Our system has this capability, but it has never been implemented,” Sheriff Giles explained. This state-wide law enforcement database automatically links to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) network. Having this network enables deputies on patrol to instantly link to national databases. An officer making a traffic stop due to a tag violation will have the ability to determine whether the suspect has outstanding warrants, for instance.
“We have this capability now through 9-1-1, but getting information by this method creates a layer of delay that can be eliminated by having GCIC/ NCIC,” Sheriff Giles explained.
The Sheriff also intends to work toward accreditation through the GSA’s Office of the Sheriff accreditation program (OSAP). This accreditation program certifies that the Sheriff’s Office has met a professional standard set by GSA. The accreditation is not only an assurance of professionalism but could also mean lower insurance rates for the County.
One of Sheriff Giles’s objectives is setting up a Sheriff’s Office Facebook page and introducing the deputies to the community. The page will also keep the community updated about news, initiatives, and opportunities related to his department. “I will share information as long as I can legally do it and without jeopardizing a case or putting someone in harm’s way,” he said.
Among Sheriff’s Giles’s goals are partnering with the local school system to reinstate the CHAMPS program. Sponsored by the Georgia Sheriff’s Association, the program is an educational program for Georgia’s youth which provides guidance, and the skills, ability and knowledge to be safe, healthy and happy in preparation for a successful life. Today’s students face dangers older generations could not have imagined. Choosing Healthy Activities and Methods Promoting Safety (CHAMPS) was founded in 2003 by the GSA to address these urgent challenges. Wheeler County Deputy Sheriff Josh Spires, who has had experience with this program in Telfair County, will be heading up this program in Wheeler County. Sheriff Giles has already met with School Superintendent Dr. Alex Alvarez to discuss implementation of the program.
Sheriff Giles brings to his new job over two decades of experience in law enforcement which began when he was just 20 years old. Born in Coffee County, Giles spent the first five years of his life in McRae. When his parents bought land from his grandfather in Wheeler County near the Telfair line, the family moved there and that is where Giles grew up. Both of his parents worked at Little Ocmulgee State Park where Giles spent a lot of his youth. His maternal grandfather also worked at the park. Giles continues to make his home in Wheeler County near the place where he grew up with his wife, Molly, a school teacher, and their two daughters, Keegan, 11, and Kassidy, 9.
After high school, Giles earned a technical certificate in HVAC but soon decided that was not the right career path for him. He had signed on as a volunteer for the McRae Fire Department and that experience led him to pursue a track toward public safety. He paid his own way through training and certification at the Police Academy at Macon, which has since closed, and later landed a job as a jailer in McRae. He soon had the opportunity to step into a deputy’s role at the department, which paved the way for his next opportunity. In 2005, at the age of only 22, he was hired as the Chief of Police at the Helena Police Department. He held that position until the cities of McRae and Helena merged in 2015 and was named the first chief of the newly-formed city of McRae-Helena. He left that position after winning the Wheeler Sheriff’s race in 2024.
Commenting on why he pursued the next step in his law enforcement career, Giles said he had been approached previously about running for the Sheriff’s post in Wheeler County, but did not feel he was ready. But by 2024, he reconsidered. “I saw what I thought was a need. I live here (Wheeler), and I can’t complain if I don’t do anything about it. The people continued from page
were gracious enough to elect me.”
Sheriff Giles emphasized that the very first time he met with his employees in Wheeler County, he established a professional standard within his office which can be related by an acronym: D-WIRED (Do what is right every day.) “That’s all I can ask of myself and my staff,” he said, adding, “I want to improve the relationship with the citizens of the county and the Sheriff’s Office. I want the people of Wheeler County to know that this is their Sheriff’s Office and I want the people to trust their law enforcement. Without a community behind them, no agency can succeed. I want the opportunity to prove that I mean what I am saying.”
