The first step in keeping pace with the population growth is to do a better job of retaining our deputies. We are losing far too many veterans to other departments and federal agencies because of morale issues with in the Sheriff's Office. Secondly, we must reach out to surrounding jurisdictions and begin training with them on a regular basis.

You need to assess the current situation and problems, develop a strategic plan and announce the findings of what needs to be done and if not done what the consequences could be for non-compliance. You also need to develop a task force mentality, working on the premise that there is strength in numbers. Working with Federal, State and Local departments, not just within the public safety field, will highlight your mission and bring the needed attention to the Board of Supervisor and the community itself.

With the competing needs of other county agencies and the schools, the Sheriff’s Office never receives all the resources it requires. When available, grants are utilized to supplement our needs and I will continue to aggressively pursue grant opportunities. Asset forfeiture, which is a program that redirects the proceeds of illegal activity to law enforcement uses, is another means used to obtain resources. And to further support provided services, programs that effectively work as “force multipliers” have been implemented.

Aside from immigration, the main challenge the Sheriff’s office faces is preparation for a terrorist type incident. We need to increase training, work with neighboring law enforcement agencies and Federal and State authorities. We also need to develop a plan of information sharing and training with the fire departments, local area hospitals, schools and volunteer organizations.

Civil unrest over immigration issues will continue to challenge local law enforcement. We need to continue to work with the schools and community groups to ensure intervention and diversion strategies are in place and to proactively attack gangs through our gang unit and regional task force efforts. The threat of terrorism, particularly given our proximity to Washington D.C., continues to be a substantial concern. The most frequent complaint received in my office involves traffic. Recruiting and retaining the high quality of personnel that are employed by the Sheriff’s Office is imperative to maintaining a professional force.

In addition to the illegal immigration problem, I believe the threat of increasing gang violence and homeland security / terrorism issues to be the most serious problems our county and our country will face in the next decade and beyond. To deal effectively with these issues we will need to be more aggressive and proactive. Currently, we send our deputies out to pick up trash and pull weeds in parks as well as giving candy out at parades and public events. I would rather use this kind of wasted tax dollars to increase the size of our gang unit and give more training to our deputies.

Sheriff and police agencies are restricted by law in immigration matters; in fact, status as an illegal immigrant is a violation of federal civil law that we cannot enforce. Until and unless immigration enforcement powers are granted to local law enforcement, deputies can only investigate immigration status when someone is identified through their criminal conduct. This is an additional workload for which the Sheriff’s Office has not received any additional funding or deputies and, without that support, may well diminish our ability to provide other critical services.

I believe the Sheriff's Office should have had some of our deputies trained by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) years ago. Presently, we are allowing dangerous criminal aliens back onto our streets, neighborhoods and schools because we don't have full access to the federal database. As the next sheriff, I will get this training for our deputies and will use it effectively to deal with criminal illegal aliens.

I believe that the appropriate course of action as Sheriff would be to assist the Board of Supervisors with an assessment of the situation in order to determine what the impact of this problem is on the community and the Sheriff’s Office. Once an assessment is completed we need to develop a strategic plan for implementation. I view the current debate in Loudoun on the issue of illegal immigration as a shoot from the hip response. The current problem is complex, created by Congress and there is no immediate solution.