By Sara Strong
Rock County Sheriff candidates are both long-time members of the local department, current sheriff Ron McClure and sergeant Mike Winkels.
Ron McClure
McClure has been in law enforcement for 34 years. "I love my job and I care what happens to the community," he said.
Through his years of service, the job has gone through an evolution that McClure has supported.
First, as the county and city of Luverne law enforcement departments merged, and now, as community policing is a trend Rock County is adopting as its manner of policing.
He sees the joint law merger as a positive thing for the county. It allowed for the investigator position, which the county attorneys will testify, has made reports and legal work more efficient.
When the concept of community policing arose earlier this year, the department faced more changes. "I support community policing, I believe in it very strongly. It will bring the community closer to us, and by doing that, weÕll increase trust."
McClure said a noticeable change in community policing is the feedback individuals will get from officers, who will follow through more regularly with victims or complainants.
Encouraging two-way communication will help the department in the long run, McClure said. "Sometimes people might just have better ideas."
Much of the local talk recently has been about drug use in young people. "ItÕs alarming and we have to continue to work on it, but we still have good kids. This is something weÕve always been working on," McClure said.
The drug problems now, he said, are different in nature because of the harshness of the chemicals ingested when using substances like methamphetamine.
Community policing will bring more communication with the public, but as an elected person, McClure still sees the department as setting its own goals from within.
Much of McClureÕs work involves a mixture of family issues with crime solving. "ThereÕs almost nothing I wouldnÕt do for people who need me," he said.
He wants to remind people that the department is investigating reports of illegal activity and following through to make solid arrests that canÕt be challenged.
Mike Winkels
Mike Winkels has been in law enforcement for 24 years and works with about 130 children with the D.A.R.E. program in Hills-Beaver Creek and Luverne schools.
Those contacts, he said, keep him connected with parents and young people and help bridge law enforcement and the community.
He thinks itÕs appropriate for the community to be involved in setting agendas or general goals for the department, with the sheriff, as an elected person, leading the department through those goals.
The philosophy of community policing, Winkels said, has been present in the Rock County Sheriff's Department in some capacity. The recent and ongoing training will help formulate specific ways to make it more complete though.
"We need to be better about getting information back to people and get out and talk and meet people," he said. "But some were already following up on things on their own."
Winkels said heÕs made good contacts in the community since heÕs lived here. "I had young kids when I moved to Luverne and I think that helped."
People got to see and know him outside his capacity as a law enforcement officer. For example, he developed relationships with children competing in sporting events with his children, who are now adults in the community.
Winkels said he supports adding an additional officer to the department to help ease logistical challenges like covering vacation times.
He also said the sheriff shouldn't spend as much time transporting prisoners, as the current arrangement is.
"Transports don't have to be done by non-sworn officers. A sheriff needs to be around more," Winkels said.
He'd like to see the department utilize part-time officers, non-sworn employees or volunteers to help the sheriffÕs department run more efficiently.
Winkels acknowledges the drug problem in the community, but adds that drugs, to some extent, have always been a problem.
"Parents can't allow risky behavior, like smoking cigarettes at home," Winkels said, because it can escalate to larger problems.
Theft and property crime are often related to drug use and supporting habits, Winkels said. But even with that activity locally, he points out that violent crime is low in Rock County and that people should generally feel safe.
Winkels said the department is always checking on leads from the community. He said officers stop suspicious vehicles on traffic violations, ask where they are coming from or going to, but stay within the law to avoid civil rights violations.
Ongoing investigations take time to develop into solid arrests, he said.