Clark County Sheriff’s Office expands concealed carry application hours

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office has expanded their concealed carry program’s hours due to feedback from residents.

The program, housed in the East District Office located in the Springview Government Center at 3130 E. Main St., now operates Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m to 3:30 p.m. and doesn’t require an appointment.

Previously the program only operated on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and by appointment only. The change took effect on April 10 and the department hopes to see an increase in permits processed.

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Maj. Christopher Clark said the change was a direct result of feedback from community members who weren’t pleased with the previous hours and were going elsewhere to receive their permits.

“Obviously we want to service the people of Clark County,” he said. “We don’t want them to feel like we are inconveniencing them.”

There has been an increase in concealed carry permits issued and renewed at the Clark County Sheriff’s Office over the past two years, with 139 more permits issued in 2016 than the previous year.

Expanding the hours residents can get permits will increase costs for the office, however Clark said the program pays for itself since it’s funded by the fees collected for the permits.

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The sheriff’s office is also taking steps to ensure a faster permit turnaround rate, Clark said. The average time to get a permit has been seven to 10 business days, he said, due to having one employee handling a majority of the process.

More staff members have been trained to do background checks for permit applicants, Clark said, and the process has been digitized. The department hopes to get the average turnaround rate to three business days, he said, with some applicants getting their permits processed the next day.

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