Sheriff-elect Darren Short looks to build relationships

Darren Short will not take office as Lincoln County Sheriff until January, but the transition has already begun.

Since the election was decided during the primary — with Short running unopposed in November — Short said that he and Sheriff Roby Bowe began meeting and starting the transition process shortly after the primary election.

Bowe even involved Short in the hiring and promotion process, Short said. “The transition is already a long ways evolved.”

Having a longer transition period has added some difficulties, but in other ways has made it a little bit easier, he said.

There have been some moves within the department. Deputy Boyd White took over as patrol captain and John Davis as patrol sergeant.

However, Short said he doesn’t anticipate significant personnel changes.

“There’s a good group of guys that are working there. There’s a good group, administratively, within the department,” he said.

“I just want to see the level of professionalism maintained and the relationships within the community maintained or improved,” he said.

Relationships

The biggest change that Short said he wants to see is a better relationship between the deputies and the community.

“I want people to feel comfortable talking to all of the deputies, talking to myself, coming to see us at any time,” he said.

Short said that he would like to have town hall meetings to help with improving that relationship. He also wants to see more activities such as the bike rodeo that was put on by Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Neil Duram.

Engaging the community with things such as bicycle safety or car seat safety is a way to build the relationship between law enforcement and the people they serve and protect in a positive way.

“Any of those kinds of things that we can be engaged with the community and assist people to make their lives safer is a huge thing,” he said.

Short said that he also wants to see his deputies engage in community-oriented policing.

“I really want to see my guys involved in the community. I want to see them out there talking to people,” he said.

Projects

Short said the department already has two drug-sniffing dogs, and they hope to have them on the street working soon.

But another upcoming potential expense is the County Jail.

He anticipates that either an expansion or new jail building will have to be looked into during his time as sheriff, he said. The biggest problem is how to pay for it.

“I don’t want to put any further burden on the taxpayers of this county,” Short said.

“The tax base in Lincoln County isn’t great, so we’re going to have to look at some alternative funding,” he said.

Short said he has already reached out to Sen. Steve Daines’ office, and a staffer there is looking into funding options.

There have been funding options such as the Secure Rural Schools program in the past for law enforcement needs, but Short said it’s not always dependable.

Short acknowledged that there are some expenses which have to be taken care of, even if they are expensive and money is tight. But, he is still concerned about not adding the cost to anyone’s tax bill.

“With the huge amount of public land in this county, there isn’t a huge tax base. So, it’s been a burden to the taxpayers, and I don’t want to see any further burden to fund law enforcement,” he said.

Cooperation

Coming from the Libby Police Department, Short said he already has a good working relationship with Libby Police Chief Scott Kessel. Now he wants to build the same kind of relationship all around the county.

“All of the law enforcement agencies within the county need to be on the same page, need to be working together — As well as the emergency service agencies,” he said.

The department already has several strong relationships, including with federal agencies such as Border Patrol, but Short said he wants to only make that bond stronger.

Short said that he has discussed with County Emergency Management Director Brent Teske ways to improve coordination across all public safety agencies — not just law enforcement.

“Get ‘em training together and get ‘em working together,” he said.

“You’re always going to end up with personality conflicts, but if people are familiar with each other and train together, I can see that improving as well,” he said.