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NEW DETECTIVES … Ben Baldwin, Sheriff Tom Kochert and Paul McCord stand proudly together as these two men have been appointed to fill the role of Detectives in Williams County, the first since 2009.
By: Rebecca Miller
Sheriff Tom Kochert informed county commissioners that he has hired two of his deputies as Detectives to add coverage of investigations to their schedules. When they are not needed on cases, they will both continue road coverage along with all the other deputies, but are now available for Detective duty when needed.
The two men, Deputy Paul McCord and Deputy Ben Baldwin, grew up and graduated from Northwest Ohio High Schools and live in Williams County with their families. Kochert said in an email to The Village Reporter, “Both showed extraordinary knowledge at the interviews, and have shown themselves capable through their respective careers. They both share a passion for this agency, and are very much in line with the direction it is moving.”
“The knowledge they bring, collectively, will enhance the efficient operation of the office. Scheduling is still adequate, especially since they are still both deputy sheriffs available to handle calls if necessary. Also, the cases they will handle, ie; felony and major crimes, grand jury testimony, and close cooperation with the MAN unit, will take an enormous burden from the road officers.”
“Detectives of this caliber will ensure that major crimes are investigated in a professional, timely, and effective way and then presented to the prosecutors and Grand Juries in the same manner,” Kochert stated.
Not since 2009 has the office had a detective, and Kochert feels that the results of that have shown. Kochert added, “They will require additional trainings, as will all my deputies as time and budget allows. The training budget is sufficient, and has frankly been underutilized by past administrations.” This, along with increased traffic crash cooperation from Ohio State Patrol, will allow the Road deputies more time to handle routine service calls.
Kochert explained that this decision is doing what he promised during the campaign. “My vision for the Sheriff’s office has always been to make it as service oriented as possible. We live in a society that wants to defund the police, destroy the infrastructure of this great nation, and dismantle institutions that define the very heart of this Republic.”
“It is absolutely imperative that law enforcement agencies strive to be as technologically proficient, culturally sensitive, and above all, in tune with current societal trends, as they can be. To resume operations in any way retrospective of the 1970’s or 1980’s would be gigantic steps backwards from the direction we should be going. Officers today are faced with situations that have never been faced by previous generations.”
“The immediate information flow, the presence of cell phones virtually everywhere, and the litigatious society in which we find ourselves require a different approach to policing. Training for officers has never been as important as now, nor has the need for constitutional correctness been as prevalent. Society today is moving at a speed that even 10 years ago would never imagine, let alone the 1970’s. It is with these things in mind that I made the decision to create 2 detective positions for the agency.”
Rebecca may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com