As Gilmer County grows, more people require emergency services
As the number of residents and visitors increases, so does the need for law enforcement, EMS and fire services in Gilmer County.
Gilmer County emergency services get more calls every year, Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) Captain Frank Copeland said.
“It’s kind of what you’d expect,” he said. “Because when more people come to an area, then you can expect an increase in telephone traffic,” he said.
In an Aug. 6 hearing, Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson said just how big these changes have been.
Call volume has increased by 44 percent in 10 years, rising 2 percent in the last two years.
In absolute numbers, this change represents an increase from 8,230 calls in 2015 to 14,761 calls in 2024.
From August 2024 to August 2025, Gilmer County had 895 more 911 calls than last year. The number of cases from these calls increased by 781.
These increased call numbers demand more police time, Nicholson said.
“When the calls go up, the patrolling goes down,” he said. “The reactive goes up, the preventative goes down.”
To increase the amount of law enforcement patrol time, Nicholson said he plans to ask for budget to hire four more patrolmen and a detective.
Currently, he has six patrolmen on shift.
The reason for the increased number of calls isn’t because of a crime wave, Copeland said.
Instead, they are fairly normal levels of increasing calls for a growing county.
“We just manage it as well as we can. We investigate, try to make arrests and recover property and do everything to our best ability to serve the citizens of the county,” Copeland said.
Emergency calls in Gilmer come from both residents and tourists, he said. Increases in either of these numbers will lead to more calls.
“As more visitors come to the county, there are going to be more calls,” Copeland said.
Some calls don’t concern crime or emergencies at all, and instead address concerns like power outages.
The calls do reveal some patterns in crime and emergency type. Callers report an increasing number of email or phone scams.
On crimes like burglary, theft and drugs, 911 call numbers are no more than usual.
“I hear more and more about fraud cases all the time, people getting scammed,” Copeland said.
For now, the 911 Communications Division has enough people to deal with the increasing number of calls.
But depending on whether people stay, get hired or leave, this number can always change, Copeland said.
“We’re fairly close to fully staffed on the 911 side,” he said.
Although not all concerning situations require a 911 call, it’s best to call 911 if in doubt.
“That’s what we’re there for,” Copeland said.