Boone County Sheriff candidate interview: Dwayne Carey
BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Nia Hinson: So to start I'll just have you tell me a little bit more about yourself.
Dwayne Carey: Uh I'm Dwayne Carey. Boone County Sheriff for the last 19 and a half years. Um I've been at the sheriff's office for almost 35. I was born and raised in Boone County, um graduated from Columbia College with my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and just kind of worked my way up through the ranks, ran for sheriff in 2004 and won, and I've been doing that ever since.
Hinson: What's kind of motivated you to keep running? You know, why are you running again this year?
Carey: So, I mean, we just have so many great things going on. As you drove up, you saw that construction area to the right. So, we're building uh a new training center uh it's a regional concept along with the tactical range. And then we're also going to build a child care center uh in that same campus area. So, it was projects that I've been working on for a long time and obviously I wanna stay and see the the completion of those.
Hinson: Absolutely. When you kind of look at the sheriffs office obviously you've been uh the sheriff for 19 years now. What are some of the things that you have kind of seen grow grown over time, and what kind of things do you want to continue to see grow here?
Carey: So, my predecessor really brought us out of what they call the good old boy redneck days and really increased the professionalism of the sheriff's office. And then I think our team has just taken it to a totally different level. We have two national accreditations, CALEA on the enforcement side and then NIJO National Institute of Jail Operations on the the jail side. And so, it you know, it's something that we're really proud of is the fact that we're the only sheriff's office in the state of Missouri that has two national accreditations. So, that really has taken us to a next level. And then the regional training concept that that we actually started back in oh five and oh six when we introduced our Internet Crimes Task Force, um based with the task force to protect our children from sexual predators. From that, we introduced crisis intervention teams, which was also a regional uh partnership type thing with the Columbia Police Department and other agencies. We've now grown that into EMS, 911, fire, so we've continued to expand that. And then in 2011, 2012, we started a regional training concept for K-9, and that has just like blossomed to where uh we're training over 40 other law enforcement agencies in the state of Missouri. So that regional concept is really what um kind of drove me to create this training center to where my belief is the better trained law enforcement officer is going to have better interactions and better outcomes with the citizens that we serve. And so we'll have um scenario based training in there, a large classroom uh simunition training, simulation training, defense tactics, training, all of that. And then the indoor um tactical range along with the shoot house, will allow us to work on shoot, don't shoot uh marksmanship skills, things such as that. And then the child care just really taking us over the top. So, there's there's one agency in the country and that's San Diego Police Department that has this established. It was actually a governors initiative. Um I've done a lot of work down at the Capitol, especially the last several years. And so um Kip Kendrick, the presiding commissioner, uh came in and we we were able to secure money for the child care center. And so what that will do for us is, we're gonna to start with all first responders on this campus. So this would be the sheriff's office, 911 and then Office of Emergency Management. And so you can do reduced cost child care, guaranteed child care. So, it's going to be a game changer on hiring and retention. And then once we get our feet underneath us, we're going to expand that out to other first responders because the biggest issue, child care is hard to find, it's expensive. And especially when you look at a 24 seven operation, like many in our industry are, it's going to allow for child care in the evening or overnight. And so we think that's going to be a great thing. So, just so many dynamite projects going on that um, you know, that I'm I'm just proud of the work that we've done and and that we'll continue to do.
Hinson: For the people who are considering voting for you, what should they know about you? And what types of things do you stand for as a sheriff?
Carey: Well, I mean, obviously, just the stuff that we talked about with the accreditation, um you know, professionalism, integrity, all the the phrases and words that you would hear from anybody in this industry. Um the thing that separates me is the fact that I'm not telling you today what I might do or what I plan on doing. I'm telling you what I've done and what I'm currently doing. And so I think our track record as a group and I've got a dynamite group here, uh you know, we're described in our uh accreditation processes as exemplary, professional, elite. Um and so that's what I stand for, is an agency that treats everyone like we would like our mother to be treated. That's our motto here. Uh if you don't do that, you don't work here very long. And so I think we have a great reputation in this community, and we're going to continue to build on that.
Hinson: You mentioned kind of what separates you from other people, specifically um Charles, the person you're running against, what do you think separates you from him? Why should people vote for you over him?
Carey: Well, he has no experience to do the job. So, uh he comes from the California Highway Patrol. He was a line officer. And please know, line officers are essential to a law enforcement agency. But he's never been a, you know, first line supervisor. He's never been in management, he's never worked on a budget. He's never managed a jail. So he's just really underqualified for what a sheriff's office requires out of a sheriff.
Hinson: Mhm and as far as crime goes um obviously in any county, it's a big deal. But I know there's some talks about Boone County, kind of crime on the rise. What ways, or things do you think you could do to kind of drive down that crime?
Carey: Well, so, I mean, we're constantly working with our partners uh the Columbia Police Department has a great three crimes unit. We have a directed patrol unit, which is kind of the same thing, just called something different. Uh they're working together to combat some of the violent crime. And so it's a constant effort. It's a battle within, you know, a war. And and you just continue to fight the different battles, the different incidents, cases that pop up and you try to win those battles within the big war. So, um I think partnerships are such a big thing. Um People don't realize maybe all the time that the City of Columbia and the County of Boone we're sharing a lot of the same bad guys. And so that communication is key, uh you know, for a good concerted effort to get those individuals off the street.
Hinson: This will be my last question. Come August 6th, the day of the election, if you do win again, you know, why should people feel secure or why should people trust you to be their sheriff?
Carey: Well, so for the last 20 years, um they have shown that trust by electing me. Uh you know, the last go around was a 68-32 win. Um and so I think, again, our track record speaks for itself. Um and then with our accreditations, one of the things that you have to do is not only are we developing really sound policy and procedure, but we have to show proof that we're operating under those policies and procedures. And so something something I mentioned at a forum last night, when you look at the 50 or 60,000 contacts that we have with citizens every year, we have maybe a handful or two handfuls of complaints. And so I think that speaks volumes. So the the folks understand that work here, they understand what the expectations are, and they go out and they do that every day uh and we we treat people the way they should be treated um while we're still enforcing the law. So, um it works really well. And um I I plan on being reelected on August sixth, and I'll go back to work like I do every day on August 7th so.
Hinson: Anything else you want to add? Those are all my questions
Carey: Um no I mean, I think, um again, we have a a strong history of good things that we've been doing here and a lot of great things that are going on right now. And so um I'll ask for everyone's vote on August 6th.
Hinson: Thank you.
Carey: Thank you.
Hinson: Appreciate your time.
