By Billy Davis

Employees at the Panola County Sheriff’s Department are not in danger of losing their jobs when they fill out a mandatory job application, said Sheriff-elect Dennis Darby.

Employees contacted by The Panolian said they are dutifully filling out applications, or already have, at the instruction of their incoming boss.

The Panola County sheriff’s department employs approximately 75 full-time and part-time employees including deputies, investigators, jailers and secretaries.   

Sheriff’s employees said the length of the application — it’s 11 pages long, with instructions on all but the back of the last page — has created the most talk.

An application obtained by The Panolian includes typical requirements such as education, personal references and employment history. It also asks the applicant to list use of alcohol and illegal drugs, driving and traffic history, credit history, and permission to perform a background check.

One employee said requirements such as listing high school information is a burden, since many employees graduated high school several decades ago.

“The bottom line is if he wants it, I’ll get it. He’s the boss,” the employee said of Darby.

To explain the application, Darby penned a letter and sent copies to each employee within the sheriff’s department. The letter reassures employees that their jobs are safe and explains that Darby is attempting to update employment records to maintain the “highest possible standards” for the department.

“… Every current employee at the S.O. prior to the election will still have a job as of January 2012,” Darby wrote. “I have absolutely no intention of coming in day one and ‘cleaning house.’”

The letter also asks employees who choose to resign before Darby takes office to “give that decision much thought” and contact the sheriff-elect. He lists his cell phone number for employees to contact.
The completed applications must be turned in by December 7 according to the letter.

Darby said he also sent a letter to Sheriff Otis Griffin explaining the purpose of the letter to employees and asked the outgoing sheriff to help him with a smooth transition. Darby takes office in January.

“I haven’t heard back from him yet,” Darby said.  

The purpose of the job application is to maintain a professional department that is staffed with qualified employees, Darby told The Panolian last week.

“It’s a way for the department to get off to a good start,” Darby said. “You can’t do that if you don’t know the people who are working for you.”

Even if deputies and others are promised job security, the applications would allow Darby to weed out current employees who fail to meet his standards for employment.  

“It’s not very professional for someone at the department, who has really bad credit, to get served with papers on the job,” Darby said, referring to the credit check.

An employee who fails to have a valid driver’s license — however unlikely — would also be a “disqualifier,” he said.

Don Province, deputy chief for the Batesville Police Department, said Darby’s 11-page application is similar to the one filled out to work for the City of Batesville.

Applicants to the police department fill out a generic application at city hall, Province said.

An applicant for the police department is also handed an explanatory letter that states the applicant must pass an “extensive background check” that includes work history, education and driving record.

Applicants must also pass a polygraph test, a physical, and a drug screening.

A preliminary interview at the police department covers other topics included in the sheriff’s department application, he said.

Darby, a former state trooper, said the extensive job application is comparable to the application the Mississippi Highway Patrol requires for would-be troopers and other applicants.

“There’s a lot at the highway patrol that I like and a lot I dislike,” he said. “The way they do applications is professional and it’s thorough. Even if you quit and come back, you have to re-apply to return to work.”

Darby had accumulated 29 ½ years with the Mississippi Highway Patrol when he retired in 2010 to run for Panola County sheriff. He lost to Griffin last year before winning a narrow match-up Nov. 8.

Darby was named Trooper of the Year for Mississippi in 2004, when he led Troop E in felony arrests and served as a K-9 officer performing drug interdiction.

When Darby takes his oath in January, he will be the first outsider to lead the Sheriff’s Department since then-football coach David Bryan won election in 1975.

One sheriff’s employee said the job application comes at the same time that employees are transitioning to a new leader. “Everybody is worried any time someone new comes in. It’s the fear of the unknown.”

Another employee contacted by The Panolian said, at previous jobs, he was also required to fill out an updated application.

“It’s about updating stuff. That’s it,” said the employee, a deputy. “What it tells me is I’m a professional and I’ve got to act like a professional.”