Sheriff To Meet With Town Officials On Beefing Up Law Enforcement

In 2011 Marinette County Sheriffs Department detectives investigated 47 deaths, 27 sexual assaults, 223 burglaries and conducted approximately 55 drug investigations, according to the annual report presented to Marinette County Board on Tuesday, July 31 by Sheriff Jerry Sauve.

All these criminal offense cases are handled by Lieutenant Investigator Barry Degnitz and three detectives: Todd Baldwin, Chris Lesperance and Dan Miller, and Drug Officer Rick Berlin, Sheriff Sauve said.

This handful of people handles any and all crimes occurring in Marinette County. They also assist other law enforcement agencies requesting interviews of victims or suspects who may be in Marinette County jurisdiction. They also work closely with the Human Services Departments of Marinette County and other areas.

They process crime scenes, conduct extensive investigations and conduct numerous interviews regarding each case. Many of the cases were cleared up by arrests, and numerous pieces of stolen property and money were recovered. They also traveled to Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Minnesota and Louisiana while working on several “Cold Case” homicides.

The investigation cases are in addition to the traffic offenses and accident investigations handled by the department’s 15 Patrol Deputies and five sergeants. Department staff includes also civilian office personnel and civilian corrections officers who operate the jail.

The staff has been operating a little short of its permitted contingent, Sauve said, but that should soon be corrected. Sgt. Matt Evancheck is back from his second tour of duty with the United States military in Afghanistan and was expected back on the job in early August. Interviews for corrections officer positions were being conducted, and Sauve expressed hope people will be hired soon to fill the need for more civilian jailers.

Officers work closely with the county’s Emergency Dispatch system (911) headed by Terry Zimmerman, and with Coroner George Smith.

They are assisted by the volunteer Sheriff’s Auxiliary members, who are trained and wear uniforms but are not permitted to carry weapons when on duty, even if they hold Wisconsin Concealed Carry permits. Sauve noted the Auxiliary recently added five new members, which brings the organization up to its assigned capacity. Members are trained in defense and arrest tactics, CPR, Shotgun, OC, and any other training considered necessary by the sheriff or liaison deputy. These trained volunteers, Sheriff Sauve noted, “cannot do everything, but they are uniformed and they help meet the needs for law enforcement at community events and large gatherings, and assist in other ways as well.

Sauve described “Crime Stoppers,” as “a very valuable organization.” He said the group is going through some changes right now, but basically the program remains the same. Persons who have information on a crime can call 715-735-5111, or 800-427-5857 to report it. The caller remains anonymous, but is given a code number, and if their information leads to arrest and conviction of a criminal, they get a reward. The annual report shows Crime Stoppers received 53 tipster calls in 2011. From those calls, seven cases were solved and seven arrests were made. Crime Stoppers recovered $50 in stolen property, recovered $600 in narcotics, and paid $325 in rewards.

Since it started in 1991, Marinette County Crime Stoppers has received 1,288 tipster calls with 246 arrests. They helped recover $38,745 in stolen property, got $305,899 of narcotics off the streets and paid out a total of $15,195 in rewards.

Sauve said one of the most important new services of his department was addition of a “Drug Drop Box” in the lobby of the Law Enforcement Center for disposal of prescription medications that are no longer needed. “We’ve had an unbelievable response,” Sheriff Sauve declared, and all these drugs are not getting into the wrong hands and they are not getting into the ground water!” Any resident may drop off any controlled, non-controlled and over the counter substances from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Meds should be in their original bottles, with the name reasonable, but all personal information can be obliterated. No needles, syringes, inhalers or ostomy supplies will be accepted. The service was made possible largely by Marinette county Employees Credit Union.

“We are looking for affordable ways to expand law enforcement in Marinette County,” Sheriff Sauve said. To this end, he has scheduled meetings, beginning in early August, with town officials who are interested in ways they can help provide more law enforcement for their towns and for the county as a whole.

Sheriff Sauve said Don Witt, who served as sheriff from 1965 to 1971 and then served on County Board for many years, started beating the drums for improved law enforcement. When Witt took office, there were many hours, particularly at night, when no officers were on duty anywhere in the county. Since then, numerous positions have been added, and there are now at least a few officers, generally three, four or five, on patrol 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

However, Sauve said, the need for additional personnel, particularly more investigators, continues to grow.

“This is definitely something we need to beef up,” Sheriff Sauve declared. “The three detectives are constantly having to put one file away so they can go to work on a new case.”

Sauve was justifiably proud of the fine report the jail and its staff received in the annual inspection by Wisconsin Department of Corrections personnel. “We’ve had some bumps, but we’re recognized as excellent and we’re very proud of it,” he declared.

“Marinette County can continue to be extremely proud of the efforts that have been made to increase the programming within the correctional facility,” the report stated. “Grants and funding received has allowed inmates the ability to continue their high school education and beyond. Success stories are occurring and over a period of time the benefits of the efforts made should become quite evident in admissions.” Officer Ellen Hanneman and Administrative Officer Tom Bourque were commended for continuing to play key roles in the development of the high school education program. To date, three inmates have successfully graduated from high school while in jail, and 50 inmates had successfully graduated from the GED program, which the report stated, “is a very important area with regard to the future success and employability of the inmate upon release.”

Sheriff Sauve said as part of his regular duties he stands on the courthouse steps on the second and fourth Mondays of each month to sell foreclosed properties, “and there are a lot of them lately.”

He said, “It was a long, dusty trail,” but new radios for the “narrow band” communications project are now in all the county squads, “and the system is working very well.” Problems with incompatibility of repeaters and mobile and portable units have been resolved, and the entire system now should provide functionality for many years to come, the report stated.

As to future needs, Sauve said with increasing numbers of inmates more staff is needed for the jail, sheriff’s deputies who retired need to be replaced, a new storage shed is needed for law enforcement equipment and evidence impounding, and an upgrade is needed in technology for field reporting.

He felt a new building should be doable as a one-time expense.

The department, he said, needs more people, as many currently are “on the brink of burnout.” He said they work 12-hour shifts and often - “myself included,” are called back if an emergency develops. “It’s been a long, hot summer and we’re not done yet,” he declared. He would like to add coverage, particularly at shift change times.

Supervisor Bill Walker asked if there are still dead spots on radio communications. Sauve said there are still a few, “but very, very few.” County Administrator Ellen Sorenson said the radio system meets the requirement of being able to communicate 95 percent of the time.

Sauve added if officers hit a dead spot on digital they can now switch to analog, and one or the other almost always works. “It’s much improved and very, very good,” he added.

Supervisor Mike Cassidy of Goodman asked if the radios now work in the “dead zone” around Lake Hilbert, and was told the service in Goodman is much improved.

Supervisor Al Mans asked how much the county was affected by reduction in State Trooper force. Sauve said there had been four or five assigned to Marinette County highways and now there is one, sometimes.

“Don’t pick up any hitchhikers,” Sheriff Sauve responded when Walker asked if he had any advice to offer. He said two of the suspects who escaped capture in a recent marijuana operation break-up are still on the run in parts unknown. Sauve added in that arrest, all but three of the officers in his department were on duty, and of those three, two were out of town on vacation.

Investigation continues into the Pembine Bank robbery, but there have been no arrests.

All in all, the department recorded 3,890 offenses in 2011. There were 937 arrests, 149 juvenile charges, 524 accidents investigated, and 2,591 citations recorded.

The Marinette County Coroner’s office handled 434 cases in 2011, according to the annual report prepared by Coroner George Smith. Of these, 206 were males and 228 were females. The report shows 392 deaths from natural causes, 28 accidental deaths, one homicide, 11 suicides, and two deaths from undetermined causes. There were 21 autopsies conducted. There were 14 deaths from motor vehicle accidents, one from snowmobiles or ATVs, six alcohol or drug related deaths, and nine deaths from firearms. The Coroner’s Office issued 172 death certificates. There were 305 cremations and one disinterment. The office collected $39,150 in fees.

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