Loading...
04. Scandia Newsletter - Feb 22S C A N D I A , M N M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R SCANDIA F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 B. Comiskey H. Newman A. Jorgenson J. Merrill R. Dziki C. Kelling Lately, the news has been dominated with the reported increase of carjacking and auto thefts across the Twin Cities metro area, and Washington County has not been an exception to the trend. In addition to working in partnership with all law enforcement agencies throughout Washington County and other bordering departments, the investigation divisions from Cottage Grove, Woodbury, and Oakdale Police Departments have partnered with ours to share real-time information. The result of agency collaboration has allowed for a quick response to several incidents and led to success in apprehension. As many of our stolen vehicles have been recovered in the St. Paul area, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office has also made it a priority to partner with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office. This partnership has allowed our team to better protect the residents and guests of Washington County with the added ability to put pressure on the criminals responsible in their own backyard. When these types of thefts occur, it takes a team effort from the Sheriff’s Office to address and respond to the rise in crime. Our criminal analyst works hard to develop a list of suspects and recently stolen vehicles to give to our teams on the street. Our Specialized Investigations Unit, along with our Special Enforcement Team, have been working extended hours, increasing patrols, and responding in unmarked vehicles for better apprehension efforts. The Washington County Attorney’s Office has joined in our partnership by assigning dedicated attorneys to help prosecute those who are arrested. With crime prevention efforts, we can help mitigate future thefts from occurring by eliminating "crimes of opportunity". Of the vehicles that have been stolen, most have been left running in driveways or parked in the garage with the keys inside. As always, we encourage our citizens to call in suspicious activity as soon as possible so our teams can respond. -Sergeant Joe Stoehr, Investigations The Sheriff's Office has proudly welcomed six new deputies in 2022. These deputies come to us with different personal and professional backgrounds and will each make a great addition to our team! In s o m e c ap a c i t y o r a n o t h er , m a n y o f y o u h a v e ha d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o w o rk w i t h a c c o u nt i n g su p e r v i s o r J e n n i f e r Fl or e s t h r o ug h o u t t h e y ea r s . J en n i fe r b eg a n h er c ar e e r w i t h t h e S h e r if f ’s O f f i c e st r a i g h t o u t o f c o l le g e i n 2 0 0 7 . S h e s t a r te d o u t i n t h e R ec o r d s U n i t t r a n s c r i b i n g r ep o r t s a n d w a s l a t e r p r o mo te d t o t h e ac c ou n t in g le a d p o s it i o n i n 2 01 2 . As a s e l f-p r o c la im e d n u m be r s f a n a t i c , t h i s w a s a na t u r al f it . J e nn if er re c e i ve d h e r B a c he lo r o f S c i e n c e in Bu s i n e s s fr o m t h e Un iv e r s i t y o f M i n ne s o t a , C a r l s o n S ch o o l o f M an a g em e n t , w i th a c o n c e n t ra ti on i n F i na n c e . I n h e r r o l e a s A c c o un t i ng Su p e r v i s o r , J e n n i f e r o v e r s e es t he a c co u n t i n g a nd f i n a nc e fu n c t i o n s wi t h i n t h e S h er i f f ’s O f fi c e . Th is i n c l u d es a n a n n u a l b u d g e t o f ne a r l y $4 0 m il l i o n, th e f i na n c i a l m a n a ge m e n t o f m a ny s t a t e a n d f e d er a l g r an t p r o gr am s , a n d t he d a y -t o -d a y o p er a t i o n a l t r a n s ac t i o n s f o r ac c ou n t s p a y a b l e a nd a c c o u n t s r e c ei v a b l e . J e n ni f e r g r e w u p i n C o t t a ge G r o v e a n d s t i l l l i v e s t h e r e t o d a y w it h he r h us b a n d , 3 -y e ar -o l d s o n , G r e a t Da n e , a n d f o u r c a t s, (s h e i s a n a v id a n i m a l l o v e r )! SCANDIA @ W A S H I N G T O N C O U N T Y S O @ W C S O M N F A C E B O O K .C O M /W C S O M N W W W .W C S O .I N F O Jennifer Flores ACCOUNTING SUPERVISOR a b l e t o c o n d u c t a h i g h l y s t a n d a r d i z e d e v a l u a t i o n w h i c h t a k e s p l a c e a f t e r a d e p u t y o r p o l i c e o f f i c e r h a s r e c o g n i z e d s o m e t y p e o f i m p a i r m e n t a n d h a s m a d e a n a r r e s t f o r D W I , b u t a l c o h o l d o e s n o t a p p e a r t o b e t h e c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r . U s i n g w h a t i s c o n s i d e r e d “e x p e r t ” l e v e l t r a i n i n g , D e p u t y F r e e m a n ’s k n o w l e d g e o f h o w d i f f e r e n t c a t e g o r i e s o f d r u g s a f f e c t a p e r s o n ’s b o d y a r e e v a l u a t e d t h r o u g h a s e r i e s o f s t a n d a r d i z e d f i e l d s o b r i e t y t e s t s . D e p u t y F r e e m a n w i l l b e a b l e t o d e t e r m i n e w h i c h c a t e g o r y o r c a t e g o r i e s o f d r u g s t h e p e r s o n i s i m p a i r e d b y . D e p u t y T y l e r F r e e m a n i s n e w l y a s s i g n e d a s t h e D W I E n f o r c e m e n t D e p u t y a n d h i s p r i m a r y r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i s t o l o c a t e d r i v e r s i n W a s h i n g t o n C o u n t y i m p a i r e d b y e i t h e r a l c o h o l o r d r u g s . A t t h e e n d o f M a r c h , D e p u t y F r e e m a n w i l l c o m p l e t e t h e t h r e e -w e e k t r a i n i n g a n d e v a l u a t i o n t o j o i n t h e 3 0 0 + c e r t i f i e d D r u g R e c o g n i t i o n E v a l u a t o r s i n t h e S t a t e o f M i n n e s o t a . O n c e c e r t i f i e d , D e p u t y F r e e m a n w i l l b e c o m e t h e s i x t h D r u g R e c o g n i t i o n E x p e r t i n h e r e i n W a s h i n g t o n C o u n t y . H e w i l l b e Deputy Tyler Freeman P r i o r t o D e p u t y F r e e m a n a s s u m i n g t h e r o l e i n J a n u a r y , D e p u t y M i c h a e l R a m o s w a s a s s i g n e d a s t h e f i r s t D W I E n f o r c e m e n t D e p u t y i n 2 0 1 8 . D u r i n g h i s c a r e e r w i t h t h e S h e r i f f 's O f f i c e , D e p u t y R a m o s h a s m a d e o v e r 5 0 0 D W I a r r e s t s , w i t h 1 5 2 o f t h o s e a r r e s t s i n 2 0 2 1 a l o n e . W e w i s h D e p u t y R a m o s w e l l a s h e m o v e s o n t o g e n e r a l p a t r o l a n d t h a n k h i m f o r h i s d e d i c a t i o n t o t h e a s s i g n m e n t o v e r t h e y e a r s ! Passing the torch...