Our Children

Children cannot defend themselves against those who use a child's innocence as a weapon. Children have become the target of heinous crimes, with an increase in sex offenses against them.  We cannot allow this to momentum to continue, and we will find those who commit these crimes, and bring them to justice as we safeguard our children.

• The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office has been at the forefront of defending this attack on our youth.  We have recently, with my assistance, become part of the FBI Task Force for Crimes Against Children. We will maintain that relationship in order to utilize any resource possible to protect our children.  
  
  
• We have a strong working relationship with Child Protective Services.  We often accompany CPS employees to homes that potentially involve child victims of abuse.  If a crime is indicated, we immediately open an investigation into such crimes so that we can act swiftly to stop the abuse.  We have expanded that operation to continue to protect and keep our children safe. 
  
  
• Since 2000, I have trained our officers in the proper response to an active shooter situation.  It is imperative that all officers with a potential to respond to such an incident be similarly trained so that a coordinated response can stop the violence as quickly as possible.  I will remain committed to our children and we will continue to train all officers that are employed within the confines of Wayne County, no matter what agency employs them.  We will expand our program to include the multitude of firemen and EMTs in this county who are also committed to help save our children.  I have begun a new training format that will include all three disciplines to assist in this effort.    
  
  
• I will aggressively seek to maintain, and expand, our School Resource Officer program, as deputies in our schools continue to ensure the safety of our children.  The mentoring, positive role modeling, and relationship building that occurs within our schools, will have a positive impact as we work toward greater police-community relationships for years to come.   
  
  
• Our Drug Task Force will also expand.  There is an enormous amount of illicit drug work that needs our attention, beyond what we are already investigating.  Narcotics dealers do not care who buys or takes possession of their products.  Covid-19 certainly exacerbated the use and overdoses of heroin.  With aggressive drug enforcement, not only with opioids but with all narcotics, we have the opportunity to save lives and the opportunity to prevent tragedies.  The more drugs we can take off of our streets, the less likely our children are to have them, or feel the repercussions of those who abuse them.