No Action to Bring Back Alto PD Early

ALTO — No action was taken on the Alto Police Department status on Monday’s city council meeting, despite the council members going into executive session with the city attorney to discuss the matter. The entire Alto Police Department was shuttered on June 15 due to budget cuts. The plan is to bring back the department in December. The Cherokee County sheriff’s department tries to keep a patrol car in the area at all times.

Fourteen days after the Alto City Council sent its police force on a six-month furlough, the Wall Street Journal got wind of the story and ran an article entitled “The Day the Law Left Town.” The next day, Forbes and the Business Insider caught onto the story. Sheriff Campbell said national coverage has not yet greatly increased the number of crimes committed by outsiders. He said most of the crimes committed in Alto are done by locals.