Bartholomew County Sheriff Chris Lane talks about his agenda during an interview in December.
Republic file photo
Bartholomew County Sheriff Chris Lane has made a good first impression.
Last week, the sheriff listed what he and the department he oversees have done in his first 100 days in office. The Republic’s Mark Webber followed up and talked with Lane about those accomplishments and what’s ahead. The sheriff identified five key areas to strengthen the department’s response to the needs of the community:
- Relentless drug enforcement
- Efficiency and innovation
- Employee retention
- Mental and physical resilience
- Partnership with other agencies
“Lane said he worked with a small team that did not use a conventional top-down structure to develop the priorities,” Lane reported.
In his first 100 days report, Lane wrote, “As a result, we created the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Team-Based Work System, focusing on six key areas, annual training and recertification, equipment, fleet, recruiting and staffing, field training and onboarding, mental health and resilience.
“When we invited employees to sign up for one of the six teams, we were thrilled to see over 40 people volunteer, including those who had never volunteered before. … In just three short weeks, the teams had structure, meeting times and clear buy-in from all employees,” Lane said in the report.
The test of leadership is the willingness of others to follow. Leaders who foster cultures of open communication and meaningful participation are likeliest to succeed. On those measures, we commend Lane and his department for involving not just members of his department, but members of the community, on important priorities.
For instance, Lane has renewed a focus on cross-training with Turning Point Domestic Violence Services. And as Webber wrote, Lane also lauded the acceptance of the department into a national hub for training, technical assistance, and research. The goal of the “Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement” (ABLE) project is to create a police culture in which officers intervene as necessary to prevent misconduct, avoid police mistakes and promote officer health and wellness.
In doing so, Lane is working to make the department an employer of choice for law enforcement professionals — including efforts to hire officers who reflect the diversity of the community. These efforts will be essential, because historically high turnover rates among corrections officers and significant retirements have forced the department to pay an unsustainable amount of overtime to too many deputies and staff members.
As sheriff, Lane occupies a high-profile position that ultimately sets the tone for law enforcement countywide. He holds one of the most important local elected offices, and one of the few that comes with the guarantee of around-the-clock, 24/7 responsibilities, especially in times of crisis.
The position also is a touchstone to the community on matters of public safety. In our view, Lane is proactively setting priorities and communicating them as vital benchmarks of accountability and community well-being. We say to Sheriff Lane and the sheriff’s department staff, keep up the good work.
