Chief Deputy

The Chief Deputy holds a highly responsible supervisory position which includes administrative work in coordination and supervision of the day to day operations of the Sheriff’s Office. The person assigned to this position is second in command to the Sheriff and has command responsibility over all other members of the agency.

About our Chief Deputy

Chief Deputy Carissa McFaddin began her law enforcement career in 2006 at Elbert County Sheriff’s Office, where she commenced as a patrol deputy. She was promoted to Deputy First Class in 2007 and again to Corporal in 2009, where she served as assistant shift commander. In the fall of 2009, Chief McFaddin was promoted to the STEALTH Unit where she gained extensive training and certification in traffic enforcement, vehicle collisions, vehicular fatalities, impaired driving, child passenger safety, and community-oriented policing.
In May 2013, Chief McFaddin left Elbert County Sheriff’s Office to continue her career at Banks County Sheriff’s Office. As a patrol deputy, she gained a field training officer certification through Georgia. In August of 2013, Chief McFaddin was transferred to the newly created position of Office of Professional Standards, where she gained specialized certification through GACP (Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police) as State Certification Manager and Assessor and as Public Information Officer through GEMA. (Georgia Emergency Management). In this role, Chief McFaddin pushed to pursue the state certification standards by implementing, editing, and updating policy procedures and operations, along with working with the community and media regarding the affairs of the Banks County Sheriff’s Office.
At the beginning of 2014, Chief McFaddin was promoted to Sergeant, where she took on the additional role of Evidence Custodian and Agency Training Coordinator. Chief McFaddin obtained specialized certifications in 2014 through Georgia in the following areas: Certified Marijuana Examiner; Property and Evidence Room Management; Crisis Intervention Team Certification; General Instructor; Taser Instructor; Basic SWAT; A.S.P. Instructor; Hostage Negotiations; and Incident Command System 300/400.
From 2014 to 2016, Chief McFaddin did accomplish the implementation of the agency’s organized boards for the use of force and pursuit reviews, risk analysis, promotional examinations, and hiring assessments; revamped the hiring process to include physical agility testing, reading comprehension, and problem-solving, voice stress analysis, psychological evaluation, and physical examinations; developed thorough field training programs which were implemented in all divisions and units within Banks County Sheriff’s Office; and thoroughly enhanced the evidence and property room along with its processes to meet and exceed Georgia’s State Certification Standards.
Chief McFaddin was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant over the Office of Professional Standards and Training in May 2016, where she then took on an additional duty of Internal Affairs and passed on the role of Evidence Custodian to a highly trained and experienced specialist. The extensive workload in preparation for Georgia State Certification proved successful in the fall of 2016. Banks County Sheriff’s Office was granted the status of a state-certified agency in law enforcement after a very successful audit. Chief McFaddin was awarded recognition through Georgia for this great accomplishment and for her exceptional effort in gaining certification status during Sheriff Carlton Speed’s first term in office.
In 2017, Chief McFaddin graduated from Liberty University, earning her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice—Public Administration. In addition, she was selected and appointed to a position on the Georgia State Certification Committee through the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, which she held until the fall of 2022. Also, this year, Chief McFaddin gained her Supervisory Certification through Georgia and began her specialized certification in Human Resource Management through the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. She was awarded this certification in June 2023.
Chief McFaddin was promoted to Captain of Support Services in April 2018, responsible for the Detention Center, Court Services, Quartermaster, Office of Professional Standards, Training, Fleet Management, Community Affairs, and Public Information. In August 2018, she completed the FBI Georgia Law Enforcement Executive Development Course, where she received certification through Reinhardt University. In Fall of 2018, she attended Sam Houston University in Texas, where she received certification through the National Jail Leadership Command Academy (Class 30).
In May 2019, Chief McFaddin was transferred to Captain of the Uniform Patrol Division. She was the Division Commander, overseeing the daily operations of Patrol, Canine Unit, STEP (Selective Traffic Enforcement Program) Unit, and HERO (Heightened Emergency Response Officer) Unit.
In September 2020, she was promoted to Major within the Headquarters Bureau. In this position, she was responsible for the Detention Division and Central Operations; Court Services Division and Warrants Unit; Terminal Agency Coordinator; Facilities and Projects Unit; Quartermaster and Fleet Unit; Inmate Work Detail; Excess Property Program; Human Resources and the Administrative Office; and Office of Professional Standards and Training.
In September 2022, by invitation only through a nomination process, Chief McFaddin attended the FBI National Academy, Class 284. This 10-week program is a professional course of study for United States and international law enforcement managers which provides course work in intelligence theory, terrorism and terrorist mindsets, management science, law, behavioral science, law enforcement communication, and forensic science.
In December of 2022, Chief McFaddin was appointed as a subcommittee member of the newly established Georgia Sheriff’s Association OSAP (Office of Sheriff Accreditation Program), where she works alongside sheriff office leaders throughout Georgia to assess the best practice standards to meet the specific duties according to the constitution, Georgia statues, and case law. In January 2023, Chief McFaddin was appointed as the Georgia F.B.I.N.A.A. Section III Representative, where she serves 22 counties: Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Dawson, Elbert, Franklin, Forsyth, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lincoln, Lumpkin, Madison, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, White, and Wilkes.
August 2023 brought Chief McFaddin to her current position as Sheriff Speed’s Chief Deputy of Banks County Sheriff’s Office, where she oversees the agency’s daily operations.