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Former U.S. Army paratrooper and 25-year veteran law enforcement professional Duane Piper has announced he is a candidate for Forsyth County Sheriff.

Piper spent the past 16 years as a member of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office before retiring as a lieutenant in October to campaign full time for sheriff. During a distinguished career, he received more than 2,500 hours of continuing law enforcement training, including all three levels of supervision and management training offered by Ga. P.O.S.T. council.

Piper cited the reckless spending and fiscal mismanagement he has witnessed in the Sheriff's Office as his motivation for announcing his candidacy.

"I decided to run for sheriff because I believe our citizens deserve a better, more efficiently run sheriff's office," Piper said. "When I'm elected, I'll stop the out-of-control spending that has taken place the last eleven years."

While other counties are trying to hold the line on spending during one of the worst economic climates in 80 years, the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office budget continues to skyrocket. County Commissioners recently approved a 35 percent increase in the sheriff's operational budget and 4 percent increase in the overall budget.

The Sheriff's budget for 2012 is $37 million, compared to $32 million in neighboring Hall County, which has a larger population and larger geographic area to patrol.

"The sheriff's budget makes up 41 percent of the county's overall budget," Piper pointed out. "If we don't get the sheriff's reckless spending under control, our citizens will see their property taxes increase year after year."

If elected, Piper said he will cut the Sheriff's Office budget by millions of dollars annually during his first year in office while increasing effectiveness and efficiency.

Piper possesses an unusually broad range of experience in law enforcement, having trained, worked, supervised and managed in uniform patrol, criminal investigations -- ranging from theft to homicide -- narcotics, internal affairs, crime prevention, detention and Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.).

He and his wife Cindy have been married for 27 years and they have two sons, a wonderful daughter-in-law and two beautiful granddaughters.

Their oldest son is a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps and their youngest is a full time college student and former soldier in the U.S. Army.