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Ozzie's Goals and Priorities as Sheriff
- Increase the Sexual Assault Unit to Better Track Sex Offenders
- Place Detectives in Districts to Solve Crimes in Neighborhoods & Business Areas
- Resolve the Issue of Jail Overcrowding
- Foster Open & Honest Communication with the Community & the Media
Issues
Community involvement is important to good law enforcement. At one time, all property crimes detectives were assigned districts and worked closely with the patrol and SCOPE volunteers in those districts. Together, they were able to identify high crime areas and work together to solve the crimes in those areas. This system resulted in many burglars, repeat offenders and drug dealers being identified and put into prison.
Community involvement is a time tested crime fighting tool. However, a law enforcement agency must have a leader that believes in that philosophy. As Sheriff, I have reestablished district assignment for detectives.
In November of 2004, the Sheriff's Office Command Staff approved the removal of one of the detectives responsible for tracking sex offenders. From that time on, only one detective tracked sex offenders on a full time basis. Prior to the move, two detectives tracked the registered sex offenders in Spokane County. Having worked in the sex crimes unit, I understand the challenges faced when there were two detectives tracking registered sex offenders. One of my first acts as Sheriff was to restore a detective position to the Sex Crimes Unit to track registered sex offenders.
The issue of jail overcrowding must be resolved. Seven years ago, a jail over-crowding problem was identified. It is time to find a solution to this problem. My working relationship with all of the elected officials is excellent and we are currently working to resolve this problem.
The citizens of Spokane County deserve a better crime reporting system. Currently, many citizens feel frustrated by a system that does not allow easy access for citizens to report crimes. My commitment to the community is to bring back Crime Check so that crimes can be reported in a timely manner.
Since taking office, I have been working in cooperation with the Board of County Commissioners toward that goal.
Gangs continue to grow in Spokane County. I, and the people of the Sheriff's Department, are working with officials with the City of Spokane and Federal law enforcement agencies in the area to form a Gang Task Force to deal with the growing gang problem.
As the former SWAT team supervisor, I know first hand the weakness of our communication system. This needs to be repaired before we face a situation like that of 9/11, where one part of the public safety infrastructure could not talk with the other.
I am working to ensure that all levels of law enforcement understand the basic functions of dealing with disasters, both natural and manmade.
In these days of high taxes and budget shortfalls, taxpayers expect and deserve efficient use of resources and services. I am dedicated to better management of the tax payers' money, putting it to work solving crime in the most effective way possible.
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Ozzie For Sheriff
Phone: 509-838-6999
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Ozzie Knezovich
P.O. Box 759
Airway Heights, WA 99001
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