OP-ED: Sheriff Candidate Lieutenant Noah Robinson Offers His Thoughts On The Election

The role of county sheriff is an immense responsibility, but my nearly 22 years as a sheriff’s deputy have prepared me for the position. Throughout my career, I have strived never to become stagnant or to get comfortable in an assignment. I have pushed myself, obtaining the rank of sergeant, then lieutenant, then major, and finally chief deputy sheriff. At every opportunity, I took on more responsibility, innovated, and improved my competence and knowledge.

• Train dozens of new recruits to become effective sheriff’s deputies
• Modernize our public records web portal
• Add accountability to our Use of Force policy
• Draft dozens of Operating Guidelines
• Streamline our traffic citation system
• Create the first-ever Sheriff’s Office Bicycle Patrol
• Enhance the resources provided to crime victims
• Deepen ties with our Neighborhood Associations
• Improve the safety and security of our public schools, parochial schools, and the University of Southern Indiana
• Design a radio system program for the Sheriff’s Office and Evansville Police Department that promotes communication between all public safety agencies within our County
• Obtain Over A Million Dollars In Grant Funding

The next Sheriff will inherit a whole series of challenges when he takes office. Jail overcrowding, staff shortages, rising levels of violent crime, and concerns about school safety are just some of the high-profile issues the public will expect immediate action on in 2023.

During my first term, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office will tackle tough problems head-on. Together, we will:

• Improve School Safety by increasing the number of specially trained School Resource Deputies present in our county’s public and parochial schools.
• Mentor children and identify students who are having difficulty in order to prevent kids from becoming criminals.
• Advocate for school safety through environmental design and embracing a safety culture.

Focus on Community-Based Crime Prevention

• Re-imagine the way we patrol our community by assigning deputies to individual neighborhoods and business districts.
• Encourage residents to form neighborhood watches and homeowner associations, and then partner with those neighborhoods.
• Prevent, detect, and solve the crime by forming relationships with the residents we serve.

• Assign additional staff to our local federal task forces and go after violent criminals and those who fuel the violence by supplying stolen or illegally purchased firearms.
• Fight for an expanded jail that fully implements an aggressive substance abuse and mental health treatment program.
• Conduct vocational job training and life skills development in the jail in order to prevent younger criminals from becoming career criminals
• Serve delinquent child support warrants, holding negligent parents responsible and preventing youth from falling into a cycle of poverty and criminality.
• Target drug dealers who poison our community with fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine.
• Arrest drunk drivers who selfishly place our families in danger.

• Ensure our deputies and confinement officers are trained in the most effective law enforcement techniques and procedures, better equipping them to do their jobs.
• Hire only the best and most qualified individuals while improving diversity by recruiting from historically underserved populations.
• Promote trust and transparency by ending the practice of investigating our own in-custody deaths.

The next Sheriff will need to immediately take control of the Office, ensure continuity of our operations, and coordinate with the Council County and Board of Commissioners. I am the only candidate in this race with a track record of accomplishment, the training and qualifications to be sheriff, and a legitimate plan for the future of our agency.

I urge every citizen of Vanderburgh County, the City of Evansville, and the Town of Darmstadt to place public safety over divisive political rhetoric and vote Noah Robinson for Sheriff.

Sincerely,

Noah Robinson