Continued: Washington County crackdown on crime pays off in 2008

"Go catch bad guys, plain and simple."

That's how Sheriff Bill Hutton, two years into his first term, wants things done in Washington County. The effort is paying dividends, said Hutton and his chief deputy, Mike Johnson, who said that 2008 "was a very good year" for the department.

Evidence of that, they said, is the performance of the county's new 14-member Fugitive Apprehension Team, which is dedicated to finding suspects who thumb their noses at court appearances and probation officers. Last year the team hunted down 254 people wanted on warrants. Of that total, 173 were for felony offenses.

"These are frequent offenders," often with criminal histories, Johnson said. "This focus takes them away from that opportunity to have more victims."

Sgt. Wayne Johnson leads the team, which works with other police agencies to track fugitives and arrest them.

While many critics of the Sheriff's Office might be offenders who couldn't get away, former County Commissioner Dick Stafford said he's not hearing complaints that would indicate a problem with the department. Hutton, he said, is personable and well organized. "He seems to want everybody to win," said Stafford, who left office last fall.

Another commissioner, Gary Kriesel, said Hutton's 7 percent pay increase last month -- bringing him to $120,375 a year in salary -- is evidence of good work. "The sheriff's certainly proven himself to be a capable and competent leader," said Kriesel, who noted that the Sheriff's Office is "fiscally restrained" and has a good reputation. "The very many successes throughout the year made that an easy decision."

The board also gave Johnson a 7 percent increase. He will make $108,338.

Both Stafford and Kriesel said that probably the best example of Hutton's leadership was how he put former Sheriff Steve Pott in charge of developing the county's 800-megahertz radio system and backed Pott all the way. Kriesel said he is impressed with the "mutual respect" between Hutton and Pott, now a captain.

Hutton and Johnson list other developments in the past year they consider successes:

• Diligent detectives digging into a five-year-old cold case found evidence that led to the arrest of Zachary Wiegand, accused of a chain of crimes that began in Lake Elmo and ended in Hudson, Wis. "It was just very good police work," Hutton said. He had assigned a detective to Hudson's police department to work on the case, which involved an attempted carjacking in May 2003 when Lake Elmo resident Julie Bever was shot in the face. "There was a lot of work that went on for months behind the scenes to identify him as a possible suspect," Johnson said.

• Deputies are more visible in cities that contract for enforcement with Washington County. The "remote site" initiative means that deputies spend more time in Hugo, Scandia, Lake Elmo, Grant, Mahtomedi and the Lower St. Croix region, which includes Afton and Lakeland. In some cases, deputies live in those cities. "It's comforting for a community and it helps in each of the cities with their identity," Hutton said. Residents say, "That's our deputy," he said.

• After the Hugo tornado in May, the Sheriff's Office navigated a difficult around-the-clock week thanks in large part to Commander Cheri Dexter, Hutton said. Dexter, who oversees the department's special services division, arranged staffing and was the department's chief problem-solver.

• A new and updated communications center will open this spring. Hutton said that by hiring a civilian, Darlene Pankonie, to lead the center he broke a pattern of uniformed managers cycling in and out every few years.

Pankonie, a former dispatcher trained in emergency management and fire department relations, also leads planning for a new records management center.

• The Sheriff's Office didn't lose a single licensed deputy in 2008, a considerable reduction from previous years. The leading reason for that retention, Hutton said, was that the county board upgraded starting salaries for deputies from about $19 an hour to about $22, which makes them more competitive with other law enforcement agencies.

Hutton said the Sheriff's Office faced challenges this past year, too, and he said not everyone will agree with his approach. "We've made mistakes along the way but I think we've been really good at recognizing them internally and working to change them," said Hutton, who plans to run for re-election in two years.

Kriesel said Hutton is the latest in a tradition of "excellent" sheriffs in Washington County. "He's really got that department hitting on all cylinders," Kriesel said.

Some of the best news from 2008 is that Washington County, with a population of about 230,000 residents, didn't have a single homicide.

That's a success story everyone can celebrate, said Hutton, who credits hard work by city and county leaders and by residents themselves to prevent crime.

"Washington County is a really good place to live," said Hutton, a former Oakdale police captain. "Safety of our citizens is way up there."

Kevin Giles • 651-298-1554