Constituents
Constituents Page
This page aims to answer the question, “What’s in it for me if Warren gets elected, and how is he different from our current Sheriff?” There’s a lot of information here, so feel free to jump to the constituent group that’s most relevant to you!
Citizens of St. Clair County
I aim to lead a service-oriented law enforcement organization. This means holding the Sheriff’s office to a high standard of integrity and transparency. I have a long history of service to my community through my time as an Air Policeman with the US Air Force, as a St. Clair County Sheriff’s Deputy, with the US Marshal Service, and as Chief of Police for the City of Yale. I am actively involved in my community through my local church and seek to build relationships with those in the community.
Serving as the Sheriff of St. Clair County will allow me to continue this service – a responsibility I’ve sought with much consideration and prayer. I believe I can improve relations between the community and the Sheriff’s Office through community-oriented policing measures and policies. As a member of the Constitutional Sheriff & Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), I live out my values as a Constitutional Peace Officer. This means protecting the citizens of St. Clair County from all threats to their freedoms – from criminal bad actors to corrupt government officials to overreaching Federal agencies. I believe it is a Sheriff’s sworn duty to empower his Office to stand in the breach between the good citizens of their county and the threats to our freedoms that seem to constantly assail us.
There have also been instances reported of a failure of the Sheriff’s Office to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in a timely manner, or in some cases, at all. This is both a lack of transparency with our citizens and is a violation of law (MCL 15.235 requires FOIA requests be responded to within 5 days unless the agency issues a notice to extend the response time by up to 10 additional days). Unfortunately, recourse can be difficult for citizens, but it is my desire to uphold the law and ensure transparency within the Office.
Still, there have been other cases of citizens who requested extra patrols in their neighborhoods due to breaking and entering, suspicious persons walking around the homes, or drug activities, but with little to no response from the Sheriff’s Office. As concerned citizens, they have the right to the security that can be provided by the show of extra patrol cars – even if just an occasional patrol unit passing through.
Clearly there are some significant gaps in what our citizens should expect and what is being provided, and I believe that through my leadership I can free up Sheriff’s Office resources to focus on these important matters and better protect and serve this wonderful county.
Sheriff’s Office Employees
Through my experience, I’ve learned that a law enforcement organization is most effective when their officers or deputies are well-trained and free to perform their duties within the spirit of protecting the life, property, and rights of the citizens they serve. This means an environment free from micromanagement. Rather than autocratic directives and quotas, I believe it’s best to train officers in principles that lead to the exercise and use of good judgment rather than prescriptive policies that seek to remove judgment from the equation.
An item of priority would be to deputize local law enforcement officers in some of our rural communities to grant them the authority to respond to incidents outside of their local jurisdiction and to effect arrests under the authority of the Sheriff’s Office as necessary. Given the size of our county, the Sheriff’s Office regularly enlists the assistance of these rural officers to provide timely response to nearby incidents, but without being deputized, these officers have to wait for a Deputy to arrive and effect the arrest – a significant wait in many cases.
I would also strive to move toward a take-home patrol car model that provides deputies transportation to and from shift as well as limited and reasonable personal use. When used responsibly, this has been shown to act as a low-cost force multiplier on our streets via the extra visibility provided by additional patrol cars. Deputies making use of patrol cars while off duty would be expected to be armed and able and willing to respond as the need arises, further increasing the readiness of the Sheriff’s Office. Studies have also shown that the take-home patrol car model results in lower overall maintenance costs as the patrol cars are better cared for when assigned only to one individual. Additionally, this is a significant benefit to the deputies that will aid in recruiting and retaining top talent.
Inmates & Families
Maintaining a safe and orderly county jail is one of the primary missions of the Sheriff’s Office – and that safety should be afforded to both our Correctional Officers and the inmates. It’s important to remember that this is not a state or federal penitentiary, and many of the individuals in our county jail are there for minor crimes and are simply down on their luck. Regardless of the reason for their incarceration, it’s imperative that we treat them with dignity and due care, and it’s also critical that we provide our Corrections Officers with the resources they need to do so.
I would also return to “personal contact” visitations so that inmates and their families can once again visit each other in person, embrace, and communicate in a more personal way. Visitation through a phone and screen is both uncomfortable and impersonal, and I believe our citizens deserve to be in the physical presence of those they’re visiting, and there would be no fee associated with visitations.
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