Why I’m in Policing

 

I would like to bring you back to how I decided to spend the last 27 years in public service. When I was in college at Hamline University, I went on a ride along with the St. Paul Police Department with a young officer. That young officer later became a senior sergeant of great reputation. During that ride a long, we went to look into the care of a young girl who had been abandoned by her mother. She was brought to the hospital by someone in her neighborhood. I met this 4-year-old girl and even though she had been abandoned, she still had complete faith that a police officer would help her and he did!

 

He became her friend, got her something to eat, made sure she was taken care of by the doctors. That young officer then transitioned her to a foster home a few miles away where she could get a bath, some better clothes, and some rest. At that moment, I knew that this was the line of work for me, one that served others selflessly and cared for those most in need.

 

Respect, Responsibility, Honor, Truth

 

These are the core values that are the cornerstone of everything we do at the Sheriff’s Office. Today, I want to talk about what it actually means to run an organization grounded in these principles and how doing so has transformed the Sheriff’s Office and become a model for policing nationwide.

 

First, let’s talk about what the four core values mean to us at the Sheriff’s Office.

 

• Respect:  For the people you serve, yourself, and the organization you represent.
• Responsibility:  To your community, the law, for peace keeping and to your state and nation’s constitutions.
• Honor:  To your oath of office, protecting those who cannot defend themselves, and giving your best in public service-no matter what the task.
• Truth:  Our transparency with the public, in dealing with co-workers, improving process and in our engagement with our system of justice.

 

 

Accomplishments

 

Since becoming Sheriff in early 2017, I have worked on behalf of the people of Ramsey County to forge a Sheriff’s Office that not only reflects our community, but engages people through a “heart of service.” My accomplishments include:

 

• Working with the community in Falcon Heights to create a new model of policing for people in the community.
• Creating the Community Circle of Race & Equity with community partners to build trust and cooperation between law enforcement and residents.
• Eliminating ICE Detention in Ramsey County. No more federal Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) prisoners will be held in our jail as long as I am Sheriff.
• Eliminating booking fees which were charged to people upon an initial arrest and hurt people who are least able to afford them.
• Guaranteeing Fiscal Responsibility. I take the management of your taxpayer dollars seriously. I returned $1.2 million back to the County in budget savings at the end of 2017.
• Hiring to reflect the diversity of our community. We now have the most diverse corrections staff of any jail in Minnesota. Over 53% of our corrections employees are women and people of color.
• Promoting an historic number of women and people of color into supervision and management.
• Launching the first Women’s Academy for law enforcement career exploration at the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.
• Maintaining excellent standards for employment through our Character Based Model of Hiring, Training, and Promotion. We hire for character and train for skills. This innovative program has attracted nationwide attention and was featured in Wyatt Cenac’s HBO series in April 2018.
• Solving the long time staffing problems in the Ramsey County Jail. Our Adult Detention Center is now fully staffed and has a new, industry-leading schedule for employees to ensure work/life balance and promote a safer work environment.
• Designing a long-term strategy for squad cams, body cams, and stationary cameras for our agency, which is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in Minnesota.
• Establishing a Safety and Security Threat Assessment Team for people in our schools, businesses, and places of worship.
• Building a high level of trust and great working relationships with our local public safety and government partners.
• Forming the Ramsey County Coalition to address and act on the nationwide opioid crisis. Our #NotAnotherOverdose Coalition includes local law enforcement, government, and non-profit agencies working together to restore people and their families to health.
• Coming together with our communities at Hot Dog With a Deputy neighborhood events in parks across Ramsey County each summer.
• Establishing the Care On The Go Initiative for inmates who are in need of basic items when released from custody. This initiative relies 100% on community donations.
• Listening and responding to the voices of our many communities. I recently received the Hmong National Lo/Pha Society Award for Leadership because of my support of the Hmong community both in Minnesota and internationally.

 

 

Sheriff Jack Serier’s Vision for Continuing Forward Progress

 

• We will maintain our focus on Character Based Recruitment, Hiring, Training, and Promotions across the Sheriff’s Office.

 

• We will continue to combat sexual and domestic violence against women and children through support of advocacy programs and holding offenders accountable.

 

• We will work with our partners in criminal justice and public health to improve mental health services in our Adult Detention Center and across our communities.

 

• We will further work for elimination of disparities and alternatives for adult and juvenile detention as Chairperson of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in Ramsey County.

 

• We will support sensible gun safety legislation through the Gun Violence Protection Order and Universal Background Check legislation.

 

• We will continue to keep ICE Detention out of the Ramsey County Jail.

 

• We will continue our work on race and gender equity in our agency and education of implicit bias and how it affects our community.

 

• We will extend our partnership and continue our work combatting the opioid crisis with non-profits and local law enforcement; focusing on pathways to treatment and provide hope to families and those suffering with addiction.

 

• We will complete our unified video storage technology solution that will maintain all of our fixed, mobile, and in-squad cameras and our new body cams now under testing.

 

• We will continue our hiring and training practices to maintain our fully staffed jail operations.

 

• We will use our Community Circle for Race and Gender Equity to maintain strong relationships with all of our communities of color across Ramsey County.

 

 

You can learn more about Sheriff Jack Serier here.