Domestic Violence

Daviess County, like many communities, suffers from an unending scourge of domestic violence incidents and sex abuse crimes. I have worked for over 10 years on the Daviess County Multi-Disciplinary Task Force for domestic violence and have built the relationships necessary to bring about significant and lasting change to this problem.

My leadership has made changes to shift the trend from reactive to proactive. I have added a case manager to follow up on domestic violence and sexual assault crimes to ensure that the victim has access to ongoing resources after the deputies leave the scene. This is imperative in empowering the survivor to interrupt the cycle of violence.

Additionally, I have added a Forensics Investigations Unit to investigate child sexual abuse and child pornography crimes to ensure these perpetrators receive the maximum sentence.

Property Crime

I have increased the number of patrol units on the road to protect our neighborhoods and property. In doing so, I have lowered instances of property crime by targeting drug crime as well. The majority of property crime is a result of drug addiction.

I am proud to say that our serious crime clearance rate is one of the highest in Kentucky and well above the national average. Our property crime clearance rate is likewise high.

As a School Resource Officer in a local school system, I have seen firsthand how much drugs are affecting our schools. It is alarming how many drugs we are locating on a daily basis, and we must do more before this problem reaches a point where we can no longer prevent in-school drug crimes. The fact is that every time we find a student in possession of drugs, it is beyond comprehension and must be addressed.

Under my leadership, we support the SROs with outside resources and combined lines of effort so that schools are no longer seen as isolated bubbles but rather as seamless segments of our law enforcement network—working the problem from start to finish.

My experience as the head of a school police department showed me what I need to know to support our SROs, and as Sheriff, I am providing that support. Our SROs serve in a unique role, and the best support they can receive will come from someone who has had a foot firmly planted in their world as well as the outside world.

We need to bring back a D.A.R.E. program so that our school-age kids are learning the dangers of drugs at an early age. The DCSO hasn’t had a D.A.R.E. program in over 15 years. We now offer better patrol services among the school campuses to fill in the gaps that our SROs cannot reach.

Under my leadership, our detectives stand ready to investigate any crime that exceeds the capabilities of our SROs. And by adding more patrol deputies to our roads, we are able to provide enhanced support to our school campuses.

Daviess County has always been known as a safe community. Lately, increases in crime have tarnished that reputation. Shootings and violence are up, drug offenses are up, and crime in general is up. I have worked tirelessly over the past four years to change the trajectory and keep Daviess County a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.

That is why I created a Drug Investigations Unit—because there has been an unanswered need for one. The methods that drug traffickers are using to bring poison into our community have changed drastically in the past ten years. The tactics to combat it must change as well, or we will continue to see a wave of drugs wash over our county.

Having a dedicated drug investigations unit is paramount in this effort. We cannot rely solely on deputies taking drugs from the people they arrest or the drugs they find in traffic stops. For years, these accounted for the primary source of drug seizures conducted by the DCSO. However, our Drug Investigations Unit has netted amazing results, proving the need for a team that specializes in drug enforcement and takes the fight directly to the traffickers. We cannot heal the addicted until we eliminate the dealers.

Human trafficking is described as the fastest-growing violent crime in the world, and though we don’t often hear about it, this problem exists here in Daviess County. This is why I have joined with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office to target human traffickers in our community and will continue to do so. These are complex crimes that require time and attention to be carried out successfully, but it is important that we do so.

We have worked with several local non-profits to provide a law enforcement perspective and assist those in our community who have been affected by this horrible crime. Together, we have built a framework to respond, and as Sheriff, I will continue this work and take a proactive stand against human trafficking.