Clark was sworn into office Jan. 2, when he also selected his leadership staff — Chief Deputy Mark Lane, Maj. Justin Nawman and Maj. David Perks.
The new sheriff said he has been taking feedback seriously and has gotten positive reactions and excitement to early changes.
Tracy Yates is the new director of outreach and recruitment. She said one of the most important things to drive recruitment and retention is collaboration with other agencies and the community, saying that her connections will help accomplish that goal.
“I’ve always said that a community thrives when we’re all together. Instead of building things on our own, we need to collaborate as a community and build it together and we’ll all thrive,” Yates said.
Yates is the widow of Deputy Matthew Yates, who was killed in the line of duty in 2022.
Clark said the sheriff’s office will be a community partner.
“That’s the kind of image that I want this agency to have, one that if someone needs something from this agency, then we’re going to be a partner,” Clark said. “We’re not going to live inside of a silo and it’s us against the world.”
The agency has a hurdle to overcome on that front, as they drew attention in October for a patrol commander’s social media comments saying he would not provide aid to Democrats. The sheriff’s office’s previous leadership disciplined but did not fire the man, saying “we protect people’s rights and we don’t support the conduct to the contrary.”
One part of encouraging recruitment that has already been completed is the removal of the $20 application fee, which Clark said went to the software company managing applications rather than the sheriff’s office. It is now free to apply.
“That could be a hurdle for someone who’s just out of the police academy who doesn’t have a job; $20 can go a long way to some people ...” Clark said. “So I don’t want that to be a hurdle for someone looking at it and going, ‘OK, well I can apply at Clark County, Springfield city, Huber Heights. Everybody’s free except Clark County.' Who would you choose? You save $20 where you can.”
Yates said since the fee was waived, the sheriff’s office received five applications for open positions in 24 hours.
The sheriff’s office also aims to improve morale, which they hope will encourage staffing, Clark said. He said happy staff can spread the word and bring more applicants.
Clark said he and his staff are still going through the budget and staffing levels, but he intends to staff the agency as well as possible within financial restraints.
He said under the previous administration, overtime pay had reached seven figures.
“When you have this many personnel, and your overtime is triple what your projected budget was, that should raise some eyebrows, and it needs to have some attention given to it to figure out why we’re there,” Clark said. “... It’s because staffing levels aren’t where they should be, so we’ve got to work to get that up and work to get that stabilized so we can provide better service to the county.”
Clark said people who get into law enforcement are aware of the inherent risks, but he will do anything he can to lower those risks.
This includes using technology like robots or drones that can be sent into a dangerous situation rather than a person, he said. Clark said he has worked with the county Emergency Management Agency on getting technology for several years now, and the EMA is working to secure grant funding for a robot and surveillance drones.
“We tear up a $50,000 robot, while that’s $50,000, it’s not a person,” Clark said. “I would much rather tear up a piece of equipment than to have one of my guys or ladies be hurt.”
Clark said he is working to decrease the turnaround time for officers doing business at the county jail to get back onto the street as quickly as possible.
A new jail is a long-term goal, something Clark said he and county commissioners are discussing.
This administration will also see more drug and traffic enforcement, Clark said.
He specifically pointed out I-70 being used to transport drugs and enforcement opportunities being missed in Clark County.
One of Clark’s majors is evaluating traffic statistics to work out a traffic enforcement plan, Clark said.
The new sheriff has a lot he wants to do, but the most important thing right now is building community relationships, he said.
“We want to be part of the solution and we want to be partners with Springfield PD and all these other entities and all the stakeholders around here,” Clark said. “We want to work with them instead of by ourselves.”
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