ACHIEVEMENTS
SAFETY
Provided CRASE (Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events) training to thousands of Kent County Residents.
Placed school resource officers in all school districts within my patrol area, there are a total of 21 officers serving thousands of students and their families everyday across 14 districts.
Placed emergency communication equipment in every school in the county including non-public schools. This equipment will serve a vital role in providing real-time information in emergency responses to our schools.
Updated security features and staffing levels within the correctional facility to provide a safe environment for those who are housed there or serve our community by working in the facility.
Expanded mental health and Substance Use Disorder services within the correctional facility to serve the needs of a population with complex issues causing incarceration.
Established co-response models for mental health response teams to respond with deputies or in some cases instead of deputies to ensure the right services are provided in an emergency.
Co-located crisis line call takers with 911 call takers to provide a seamless process of determining the right service in a mental health crisis.
EFFECTIVENESS
Our Law Enforcement staff relentlessly pursues crime prevention and resolution through effective patrols and investigations and have improved the clearance rate through hard work, technology and training.
Our staff has effectively responded to the demands of responding to calls for service and all of it’s challenges with less than .5 percent of incidents resulting in ANY use of force.
Created the only Human-trafficking task force in West Michigan. They coordinate with a number of non-profits for wrap around services for those who have been victimized. This unit provides investigations throughout the county and educational services to law enforcement and correctional staff.
Created screening process within the correctional facility to identify justice involved individuals who may have been forced into criminal behaviors via sex or labor trafficking.
Our correctional staff have used force in less than .10 percent of the time while managing the intake of new inmates to the facilities, a time when many individuals are combative and under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Implemented technology to assist in the identification of vehicles involved in criminal activity, this has been critical in stemming the growth of vehicle thefts in the county.
Established with multiple departments a pattern crime unit that focuses specifically on crimes committed over and over until someone is apprehended. This has resulted in reducing the number of residents who will be victimized by these career criminals.
We have solved EVERY homicide that has occurred while I have been Sheriff and have resolved two cold cases due to new efforts on the cases. Once case has also assisted in resolving additional homicides.
TRANSPARENCY
Created a professional standards unit that has centralized our internal investigations of violations of policy or law. This has allowed us to resolve issues of concern and have effective communication with community members. This also allows us to track staff training and supervision needs.
Created dashboards available on the Kent County website to allow the community to track key indicators such as rates of crime, response times, correctional facility rates of incidents and use of force.
Implemented bodycams for all Law Enforcement personnel and fixed cameras throughout the correctional facility.
Provided an online portal to allow customers to easily request records, videos, audio or reports for their insurance or follow-up needs. This allows customers to minimize wait-times and calls to check the status of their request.
RECRUITMENT, RETENTION, WELL-BEING
The public safety community has been challenged like many other industries to recruit and retain qualified staff. This is even more complicated for a Sheriff’s office due to the variety of skillsets we need to operate to include corrections, law enforcement, communications, skilled trades, maintenance, clerical and technical. We have been able to stay within 5% of full strength during these challenging times.
We have also worked closely with the Board of Commissioners and local communities to increase our staffing levels to meet the needs of a growing community. This has caused the addition of several correctional and law enforcement positions that we have successfully filled with qualified professionals.
We have doubled our training staff to meet the needs of this ever-changing professional team and to provide the de-escalation skills needed to continue to meet the safety expectations of our community. A focus on intentional development of young people in our community schools and programs to provide a pathway to become public safety professionals. This includes scholarships, internships, mentoring and entry level employment.
We have recruited from all parts of our community and focus on providing access for anyone with an interest and aptitude.
We strive to keep our required overtime hours as low as possible to provide opportunities for our staff to enjoy their families and the community we serve.
We provide comprehensive healthcare and mental health services and a critical incident de-escalation team to help staff with the long-term effects of exposure to critical incidents.