The first candidate has thrown his name into the hat to run for Kosciusko County sheriff.

Det. Sgt. Sam Whitaker, a 17-year veteran of the department, said he will pursue the elected office on the Republican ticket.

Whitaker has been building a base of support in recent months and has assembled a series of proposals he would implement if elected.

Next year's election ends one of the longest eras in law enforcement as Sheriff Al Rovenstine concludes his fourth term served over a 20-year span.

In recent elections, Rovenstine has seen few if any opponents, but this year's Republican primary could include several candidates.

Of the names being mentioned as possible candidates, Whitaker will likely have as much experience as anyone. In his 17 years, Whitaker said he's had a hand in 1,500 felony arrests. He was responsible for establishing the Special Operations Drug Task Force Team in 1987 and oversees a $300,000 budget today for that task.

Whitaker will kick off his campaign with a town hall meeting at 8 a.m. Saturday at Teel's restaurant in Mentone.

If a list of proposals contained in a press release is any indication, Whitaker will have plenty to talk about.

Whitaker would restructure the department in several ways to give more attention to juvenile crime and free up more time for patrols.

An officer would be assigned the duty of serving warrants. The department currently has nearly 5,000 criminal warrants, which are served by officers when they're not busy with more immediate duties.

He said typically officers try to serve the warrants the first week or two they're issued, but afterward the paperwork ends up in a drawer. "Unfortunately, if you don't have the time, it doesn't get done," Whitaker said.

He also said about 12,000 civil court papers are served annually by officers. Civilians should be hired to do that work instead. By having civilians serve warrants, officers would have more time to dedicate to more pressing duties.

If any restructuring would result in an additional hiring, it would be civilians who would handle the court papers, he said.

Other proposals include:

• Establish a juvenile division with an officer who would focus solely on crimes involving minors. Those duties are currently handled by detectives and patrolmen.

An officer overseeing juvenile offenses would be more acquainted with juvenile law, more familiar with the cases and would work closely with the probation department, which handles almost all of the cases after suspects have been adjudicated.

The officer would provide more followup with parents and work on smaller crimes such as vandalism and truancy. Addressing those issues more directly could help curb more serious offenses later by the perpetrators, he said.

• Establish a full-time arson investigator instead of spreading the duties between the department's two detectives. "There's getting to be so many (arson investigations) that it takes a lot of time to work an arson ... We do need more people to work burglaries and thefts," he said.

He is also promising to provide patrols to all parts of the county. He said he occasionally hears concerns from people in rural areas, including Silver Lake and Syracuse, who complain about a lack of patrol.

The detective division would include the juvenile officer, the arson investigators and the two detectives. Whitaker would include an evidence technician within the division as well. [[In-content Ad]]