Cascade County Sheriff Candidate Profiles: Slaughter & Groskreutz
Jesse Slaughter
In 2018 I ran for Cascade County Sheriff because I saw an opportunity to improve leadership and accountability at the Sheriff’s Office. I was inspired to bring transparency to the office and restore confidence to the people of Cascade County. I knew it would be challenging and I knew a culture change would not be embraced by everyone. However, I knew our community deserved it.
As soon as we took office, and each day since, we’ve made it our mission to put our community first. Simply put, we’ve kept our promises.
The team at CCSO has accomplished so much in my first term. Here is a short list of things we’ve done that directly affect public safety:
- Streamlined staffing to put more deputies on the street
- Added 5 deputies to the annual budget
- Added 3 detention officers to the annual budget
- Added an Internet Crimes Against Children Detective
- Created a Violent Crimes Prevention Task Force
- Created a civilian Use of Force Review Committee
- Improved capacity at the jail, by removing state prison
- Made major repairs to the jail, improving security
- Started the CCSO’s first online crime reporting system
- Introduced an improved body camera program
- Created a new K9 Program
- Introduced the Angel Initiative, which provides drug addiction assistance
- Moved the 24/7 program to downtown Great Falls
- Revitalized the Reserve Deputy Program
- Updated patrol vehicle video systems and body worn cameras
- Created a Resident Deputy Program
- Introduced the Drug Endangered Children Program
- Acquired a body scanner for the jail
- Purchased new riot gear for Our community
- Moved processing juveniles, with felony charges, to the JDC
I have served in law enforcement for over twenty-two years. I am guided by my faith and my family. My wife, Christie, serves as a Victim Witness Advocate on the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole. We have three amazing children and Christie and I each serve as volunteers in multiple facets in Cascade County.
I am proud to be your Sheriff and I truly care about the people of Cascade County. I am dedicated to putting the community first, keeping the promises I make, and protecting your freedoms.
I am accountable to the community members of Cascade County, my boss.
I believe the best predictor of future performance is past performance .You hired me in 2018 to bring a change to the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office. I am proud to say we’ve done that, but there is more to do. To keep moving forward, I’d be honored to have your vote on June 7th.
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Jay Groskreutz
I’ve worked for Cascade County Sheriff’s Office for 22 years. I have served in a supervisory role as a corporal and sergeant at the jail, and in numerous leadership positions as a patrol deputy, including SWAT, coroner, Search and Rescue, a School Resource Officer, a resident deputy for the town of Belt, and as a corporal. My wife of 22 years and I have raised our two daughters in this county. We love to hunt, fish, camp, and spend time together as a family. I want to serve Cascade County as sheriff to make our county safer and our sheriff’s office stronger.
The number one public safety issue plaguing our county is drugs. I intend to wage a county-wide battle against the drug problem, because not only is the drug abuse a problem, but it creates other issues for our county too – thefts, assaults, sex crimes, and one of the most overlooked – crimes against children. That’s why the Drug Endangered Children approach is at the core of my plan. This nationally recognized approach does not cost us more money and has the potential to bring drug-fighting money into our county. The DEC approach allows us to proactively help children through better collaboration with agencies and community partners, such as Alliance for Youth, Toby’s House, and the Dandelion Foundation. It also means enhanced training for our employees.
Another of my priorities as sheriff is to provide leadership for our sheriff’s office, which will, in turn, improve employee retention and morale. I will spend every day as sheriff making sure our deputies and detention officers have the tools and training they need to make them effective and to keep them safe so they can go home to their families. These men and women need to know how valuable they are to me and to our county. They need a leader who communicates a vision and works alongside them to carry it out. I want our detention officers to be emboldened, and I want our deputies to know the county. We play a huge role in making this county better and safer, so we have to know the citizens and businesses who make this county great. When deputies and detention officers get the leadership and training they deserve, they are more effective at their jobs, and that means a safer Cascade County.
We also have to make current sheriff’s office programs and task forces work for OUR county. A lot of the ineffectiveness of our programs is related to poor employee retention and a lack of leadership and vision. If we could maintain higher retention, we’d be able to keep deputies on task forces and in specialized fields, such as K9 handlers. The sheriff needs to be the one to provide a vision for these programs. You can’t just start a program or a task force and waste incredible resources – namely our people – on mediocre plans. You have to finish it. That requires leadership. I intend to provide that leadership for Cascade County.