Sheriff Chuck Jenkins (R)

(10/28) The 2018 election for The Office of Sheriff is critical to the future of our quality of life and public safety in Frederick County. Electing the wrong man to the Office of Sheriff will have long lasting implications, never to be reversed. Having a broad working knowledge of issues involving law enforcement, public safety, homeland security, and government at all levels is important in making decisions that impact policy, operational strategies and budgets.

In short, having experience does matter. I have that experience, more than twenty-eight years of experience (currently) in law enforcement and public safety (include 35 years in volunteer fire and rescue). I have served as your Sheriff for 12 of those years, clearly giving me not only real experience performing those duties, but the clear advantage of having the insight to successfully address public safety issues with constantly shifting priorities.

During my tenure as Sheriff the Office has grown and progressed as a modern, well- trained and equipped, very adequately staffed agency in both law enforcement and corrections. Our technology and tactical abilities are at the tip of the spear. Our investments in security and technology in law enforcement, corrections, and in court house security are state of the art.

During my three terms in office the agency has many accomplishments to tout. The serious crime rate in this county is well below one-half of the national average per capita, with decreases four consecutive years, down eleven percent in 2017 alone. Our School Resource Officer program is recognized statewide as a model program, and efforts to improve school security will be a priority moving forward. We're rolling out Active Shooter Response training to businesses, churches, and schools county-wide. Being fiscally responsible with budget dollars, in twelve years I have returned over $33 million to the county's general fund with budget surpluses and ICE detention housing reimbursement, without denying training or equipment.

For over ten years, we have partnered with ICE and have built a nationally recognized and effective 287g Program at the Adult Detention Center, placing 1608 criminal aliens into deportation after committing crimes in Frederick County including 106 gang members, mostly MS13. This is a fact, our 287g Program with ICE in this county has been the one true deterrent from being overrun with MS13 and other transnational gang presence, and the associated crime. I’m very aware of and concerned about what is going on with gang crime just a few short miles away.

Our drug enforcement efforts are an agency priority and have increased in effectiveness of taking down dealers, number of arrests, and quantities of drugs and cash seized. My recent proposal to transition part of the Detention Center Work Release into an addiction detox facility may just be the one missing piece that turns the tide on the Heroin/Opioid crisis locally. This is in addition to the many dozens of local community and town hall meetings where I have presented information to our citizens, educating them and providing awareness about the magnitude of this addiction crisis. This is what the Sheriff’s Office should be and is doing.

Being accessible to the citizens of Frederick County has been the best part of serving. I have been the most accessible elected official in this county, allowing me to directly and effectively address your concerns. People have been able to visit me or call me directly, or see me at most any event, which is seldom the case in today’s world. Most live and communicate on email, social media, or blogs.

How does my opponent make his case to be your Sheriff? He says the heroin/opioid crisis is my fault because I’m not doing anything, I have no master’s degree, and he says the 287g Program costs the county money while continuing to call for an audit of the program. None of those are remotely true and in case he didn’t notice or understand, a thorough audit was performed and presented by an independent audit authority. We hear of a "plan" for the heroin problem but there is no plan, just criticism. You hear that there is no MS13 gang problem and there is no concern about MS13. One has to be blind not to look a few miles away to see it and be concerned. To refute another false narrative being pushed out about low morale of deputies, a recent internal poll conducted by the FOP membership showed that the overwhelming majority were very favorable and satisfied with the conditions of employment within the agency.

Finally, let’s look at experience. My opponent had a few years with the Metropolitan D.C. Police, maybe eight years before leaving. He was out of law enforcement for many years before being hired by Sheriff Carl Harbaugh for research and planning. He was eventually appointed to the position of Bureau Chief by way of "the good ole boy, wave the wand" system that he alleges occurs now. He formally held that "second in command" position for eight months, hardly making a case for experience in leading the agency. The years in between have been spent in a federal government job, in the analytic think tank environment of government bureaucracy, not in any law enforcement role or any involvement with local government.