LIVE CHAT: Sheriff Candidate Mike George Answers Reader Questions

By LoudounExtra.com staff

Originally published at 1:49 p.m., October 19, 2007
Updated at 12:11 p.m., October 22, 2007

Mike George (D), candidate for Loudoun County sheriff, was online Monday to answer questions from readers of LoudounExtra.com. The full transcript is below.

Incumbent Sheriff Steve Simpson and sheriff candidate Greg Ahlemann (R) will answer questions from readers of LoudounExtra.com later in the week. The remaining chat schedule will be as follows:

-- Steve Simpson: Tuesday, Oct. 23, 11 a.m.

-- Greg Ahlemann: Thursday, Oct. 25, 11 a.m.

A transcript will be available immediately following all three chats. The transcript of George's chat is below.

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Mike George: Good morning, this is Mike George and it is now time to open up the online chat room. I am truly looking forward to this opportunity to address any questions or concerns that you may have about me or my platforms.

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Leesburg, Va.: What are your thoughts on creating a countywide police department and merging those services with that of the Leesburg police department?

Mike George: I have a few questions on the creation of a police department. I am in favor of it and believe that in the near future it will be a necessity. It is not something that can be done overnight, more like five years in the making, so we need to start planning it for it now. If we wait we will be playing catch up once again.

Sheriff Candidate Mike George

It takes a lot of the politics out of public safety. Right now the only requirement for sheriff is to live in LO CO. The selection of a police chief is usually a nationwide process to bring in the most qualified person.

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Ashburn,Va.: I feel the most important trait for a leader to have is integrity and will stand up for their fellow deputies. Will you put your image aside and stand up for your deputies when you know they are right?

Mike George: Integrity is a requirement for all law enforcement personnel. My image, whatever that may be, must be positive to support the troops. My platform was endorsed by the Southern States Police Benevolent Association, which has over 200 deputies within its ranks, and that says a lot to me. I am not a member and the other candidates work on the same force, yet they selected me.

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Leesburg, Va.: Under the Virginia Constitution, the Sheriff is a vital but still largely ministerial officer. The Sheriff enforces criminal law, acts as bailiff and marshal of the courts, and is the jailer in most (but not all) cities and counties.

Given that the sheriff's duties are established by the Constitution, and that close to 50% of the sheriff's budget is a state allocation from the Constitutional Compensation Board, and that Supreme Court has explicitly ruled that the sheriff has no rule-making or policy role, exactly what differences between the candidates should be evaluated by the voters?

Mike George: The voters should be looking at qualifications, background and education. What are the current problems and who has the means to address them. The current issues we face on a local level will be gangs, immigration issues and illegal narcotics. I am the only candidate who has work in gangs, in narcotics and with immigration. Loudoun CO is a rapidly growing, wealthy county with changing demographics. I worked in Fairfax when it was experiencing what we now see in LOCO.

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Ashburn, VA: Mr. George,

What can you tell us about the numerous unsolved murders within Loudoun County and what will you do to increase the effectiveness of the Sheriff's Department to deal with serious crimes like these?

Mike George: I am not up to speed on the unsolved cases and what has or has not been done. But if the sheriff's office is not working with the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP), it should be. Below is brief synopsis of the VICAP program.

What is VICAP?

VICAP is a nationwide data information center designed to collect, collate, and analyze crimes of violence -- specifically murder. Cases examined by VICAP include: -- solved or unsolved homicides or attempts, especially those that involve an abduction; are apparently random, motiveless, or sexually oriented; or are known or suspected to be part of a series;

-- missing persons, where the circumstances indicate a strong possibility of foul play and the victim is still missing;

-- unidentified dead bodies, where the manner of death is known or suspected to be homicide; and sexual assault cases.

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Broadlands Va.: I have read that while you were an officer in Fairfax you ran an ICE-type of operation with only one officer. Is that true and is it feasible to do that now in Loudoun?

Mike George: There have been a lot of partial stories about that question. Ten years ago when I was running the Gang Unit in Fairfax, we would arrest gang members who committed felonies and we were unable to deport them because immigration, now ICE, was just too overloaded to help. I met with them and assigned one detective full time to their office with his sole responsibility being to process undocumented aliens who we arrested to have them deported. (See endorsements on my Web page James Goldman). It worked with one person. Would we need more than one person now? Most likely. Do we need to train the entire force? Absolutely not. If I was wrong you could always add more people. The 287g program is a modification of what I was doing 10 years ago, so yes, I do believe it is feasible and necessary.

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Round Hill, Va.: Should you win the election on Nov. 6, do you see a role for either of your opponents in the sheriff's office?

Mike George: I have already approached Mr. Ahlemann and told him that if I should win he was welcome to have his job back. He wasn’t fired; he resigned because he wasn’t happy with what he was seeing while he worked there. I am running because I have lived here for 27 years and I thought things needed some serious updating. It costs approximately $100,000 to hire, do background investigations and train a deputy, so if he wants to come back, I save the county $100,000 and get an officer who can hit the street running. I have not made the offer to Mr. Simpson although I am not opposed to open a negotiation with him. I also clarified to Mr. Ahlemann that I wasn’t being over-confident, but if it did work out that way I am a man of my word.

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Ashburn, Va: You have been out of touch with police work for eight years. How does this justify your candidacy for the office of sheriff?

Mike George: In my current position I work with law enforcement on a daily basis. Just last week I was at the Northern Virginia Regional Police Academy teaching an 8-hour class to 28 officers from various jurisdictions within Northern Virginia. I have provided training to over 1,800 law enforcement officers from over 400 different jurisdictions in 31 different states in the last two years.

I also assist with the writing of search warrants and have participated in raids with local law enforcement as part of my duties. I meet with more police personnel than either of my opponents. This exposure provides me with what other jurisdictions are doing, what works and what doesn’t, which I believe is a good thing if we can learn from the mistakes and successes of others.

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Harrisburg, Pa.: Have you considered a program used successfully in several places where one partially deputizes taxi drivers and delivery drivers and others who drive around the community with radio or telephone capabilities? They are trained to observe when something might be askew and to phone in a report of suspicious activity, such as someone breaking into a window. This gives law enforcement extra eyes on the community.

Mike George: I have not considered this program but I have to say I like it. Anything that enhances the communications between law enforcement and the community is beneficial.

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Arlington, Va.: Aren't there complications in dealing with immigration issues on the local police level? Don't local police lack the capabilities to check immigration status and to act accordingly?

Mike George: The whole immigration issue is a series of complications. The police do lack certain capabilities, and ICE, although it has the capabilities, does not always act because they are overworked and they have to prioritize. My stance has been target criminals, if they are here illegally they get deported. If I were to have a deputy check the status of a person who was filing a complaint and the person was here illegally he would not be deported by ICE for a status violation. I would not have the deputies doing that because it accomplishes nothing and it turns off the community from reporting crimes, which is a quality of life issue for all of us. The system is broke and it needs to be fixed. We have voiced are displeasure to the federal government and hopefully they will assist us so we are not shooting from the hip, which any police officer or deputy will tell you when you shoot from the hip you usually miss.

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Sterling, Va: What made you decide to run?

Mike George: As a resident of LO CO for 27 years and being a law enforcement professional, I have watched the county grow and the sheriff’s office lag behind. There have been improvements but they were done out of necessity. With our rapid grow we need a pro-active stance -- not a reactive response, which is actually recovery. When I considered running I had many friends on the sheriff’s office, some retirees from Fairfax, some just from being involved in the law enforcement community for so long while residing here. They asked me to run because they felt they needed a stronger voice to get them tools they needed to make their jobs easier and more effective.

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Ashburn, VA : Do you have any plans to modify the current Community Police program in place in Loudoun County? If so, please explain.

Mike George: Community policing is vital to effective police work. Having a background in intelligence gathering, I would like to add an element of Intelligence Based Community Policing, using reports and some basic analysis to direct where we need to place the community policing units and how many we need. Have the units target specific issues that are a concern to the specific community.

I would like the Community Office to be available via e-mail to effectively communicate with the people within the community as an additional method of contact.

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Broadlands, Va.: With an increasing population, but a declining or stable business base, how do you propose to adequately staff the sheriff's office? Would you consider splitting responsibilities and allowing/supporting the formation of a police department.

Mike George: I will need to review the entire structure to formulate a strategic plan, which may involve more task force-type operations along with a stronger relationship with the local police departments. If needed, you meet with the board and show them what you have, tell them what you need and what the ramifications are if it doesn’t happen. I have supported a police force but it will not happen overnight and we need to start planning for it now.

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Mike George: My time is up and I thank everyone for their questions. If you have any additional questions, concerns or comments please send them to georgeforsheriff@aol.com.

Thank You

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