What about your qualifications or experience makes you the best candidate for sheriff?
Has more than 24 years of law enforcement and corrections experience and is only candidate with experience in alcohol and drug treatment for offenders, has operated a treatment facility for offenders and served in every division in the sheriff’s office. Currently works as a detective on child abuse and sex crimes cases. Has been on the U.S. Marshals fugitive task force, was a trainer for the state department of corrections, is a former K9 handler, a hostage and crisis negotiator and is trained in conducting forensic interviews of children. Is set apart from other candidates by proven experience in recruiting and retaining staff at all different levels.
Is actively involved in the community by founding and operating a non-profit organization, volunteering for the Indiana Donor Network and serving on several boards, such as KIC-IT and ASSIST, and is a member of the Franklin Rotary Club.
What are the top three law enforcement issues facing the county? How would you, as sheriff, address them?
Top three are the drug epidemic facing entire country, jail overcrowding and community involvement to target high crime areas and build on relationship with the public.
Wants to involve mental health experts, courts and prosecutors to evaluate inmates when they are brought to the jail and intervene with addicted people when they are brought to the jail. Is committed to fighting drug crimes, but wants to be proactive to keep inmates from becoming repeat offenders by getting them the needed education and tools. Wants to partner with community organizations and healthcare providers, get grants, and share ideas with other communities.
On jail overcrowding, wants to use community corrections facility more by finding ways to speed up the justice system to get more inmates into community corrections, which has the space for more people. Doesn’t want the county to have to repeatedly face the task of needing to expand the jail, so issue must be dealt with through the proper facilities and by effectively treating the issues that lead to arrests. Is in favor of programming inside the jail. Wants to form partnerships, expose the problems, seek grants, bring in mental health experts and use community corrections to save taxpayers money, impact families and break the cycles. Wants to explore other options before asking taxpayers for $14 million to $20 million to expand the jail.
Wants to conduct town hall meetings and use residents and a task force to help target high crime areas. “We need citizens to get involved and become a vol at sheriff’s office and change the culture of how the community feels about us as a whole. We are missing that piece — our relationship with the general public and targeted patrols in our neighborhoods of the highest crime areas.” Would build on the existing narcotics investigation division and partner with federal agencies to get more help. Wants to be more proactive in the schools and possibly establish mini sub-stations in the schools to increase presence in the schools. Wants to expand reach into the high schools because programming is strong in elementary schools but then falls off when children are at a time when teenagers are making critical decisions.
Does the sheriff’s office need more employees to work as deputies or as jailers? Why or why not? And if so, how should new employees be paid for?
Sheriff’s office and jail is well-staffed. Said some people will raise issue of the employee turnover rate in the jail, but the problem is retaining employees due to the culture, morale and opportunity for advancement. Wants to offer employees improvement plans and know about their goals so the office can help them achieve their goals. “The more employees we retain long-term, the better it is going to be for the public, because you have better trained men and women.” The jail has enough employees budgeted for the inmate population, but the problem is that the positions are never all filled.
In the past, county officials have debated a public safety income tax that would raise residents’ income taxes to pay for public safety expenses, including police and the sheriff’s office. Do you support this tax? Why or why not? Would you advocate for the county to enact it? Why or why not?
As long as the county council is willing to entertain feasible raises for staff, it isn’t necessary. Would like to run the sheriff’s office without raising that issue, however deputies’ pay is a little below pay at other agencies. If the county is willing to budget for typical or average raises, then is not a supporter of raising taxes or a new tax.
What can the sheriff and the sheriff’s office do to reduce recidivism among people arrested in the county?
Should provide resources to inmates while they are in the jail by partnering with Department of Child Services, hospitals, Adult & Child Mental Health, churches and others. Provide resources to them instead of bonding them out with only a bag of clothes and nowhere to go. “Sometimes they are leaving in jumpsuits and nothing else. We are setting them up for failure.”
Jail overcrowding has become a consistent problem. What is your plan to address this issue? Would you expand that jail? What is your plan for expansion? And how would that expansion be paid for?
Wants to use current resources, such as the community corrections facility, first. County council will have to decide whether it is willing to ask residents for tax dollars to expand the jail. If the community corrections facility is fully used and has no more room, and county has exhausted all other means, then may have to look to the income tax and the taxpayers and ask for money, but only if county has outgrown all other resources, because can not release inmates who should be incarcerated. Is opposed to housing offenders for other counties while jail is overcrowded. Asking taxpayers to fund a jail expansion would be a last resort, but if that becomes necessary, a jail expansion project should provide sufficient amount of housing long-term, not just for four to eight years.
One issue that has been pointed to as a cause for jail overcrowding is the state legislature’s decision to have the lowest level offenders serve their sentences in the county jail, rather than a state prison. Should that be changed? Would you advocate for that to be changed? Why or why not?
Would definitely advocate for that to be changed. Already a discussion about some sort of state facility to capture the overflow inmates. Puts a big burden on some counties.
Drugs are a significant issue in our county and around the state and nation. Some officials have estimated that 90 percent or more of the criminal activity here is in some way tied to drugs. And for some inmates, jail time may give them a chance — even forced — to get sober. Should the county offer them resources during a time where they may have a significant impact? Do you favor offering rehabilitation or drug treatment programs? Why or why not? Do you favor having certain areas of the jail dedicated to housing drug addicts, where they can receive specialized services? Why or why not? What else should the county do?
Putting addicted people in jail does not change their cognitive thinking. When he opened and operated a treatment facility, worked to change the culture, train staff, partner with mental health providers. Wants to have resources inside the jail, such as life skills or money management. Current jail does not have room to separate inmates who are addicted to drugs, but could eventually have programs dedicated to cognitive thinking or addressing mental health issues. Wants to grow jail nursing staff to include mental health. Wants behavior modification classes to be ordered for some inmates by the court. Jail alone doesn’t fix anything. “It is a means of punishment, not a means of treatment.”
Mental health issues are also common with inmates at the jail. What, if anything, should be offered to jail inmates to try to address that issue? How should it be paid for?
Would pursue grants for mental health issues. Use nursing and administrative staff to bring in a mental health professional to provide some sort of assessment. Doesn’t want to release someone with mental health issues right back into the community without some type of treatment. More training is needed in determining which inmates have mental health issues or are being defiant. Funding is always an issues. Will look for funding and staffing to start to treat inmates with mental illness, otherwise they will likely be arrested again in the future. Would look for community partners and get the community to buy into what is happening and what needs to be done.
What is your philosophy for the public release of information regarding all incidents, crimes, investigations and accidents? How and when should information be released and what internal setup would you have to make sure the public is aware of all crime and safety issues?
Is not opposed to releasing information, but would protect undercover investigations, and ongoing investigations or victim identities in some cases. Would be the most transparent sheriff ever elected, to a fault. Would work to develop a trusting relationship with the media, producing good stories about the work of the sheriff’s office and showing the mistakes as well, similar to how information is shared now. Would have a trained public information officer deputy as a constant contact. Would work with the media to share information on crime trends in certain areas, and work with the community on programs and always let residents know what is going on.
Will you discipline officers found breaking traffic or criminal laws? Will they be charged or ticketed like everyone else? What would you do if an employee or deputy was suspected of criminal behavior?
If deputies are working hard, people are going to complain. Will definitely conduct thorough investigations. If a deputy is accused of criminal activity, would reach out to another agency. Should not investigate criminal cases on our own staff. Hard-working deputies will make mistakes, leading to complaints.
Should deputies have ticket, traffic stop or public interaction quotas? For example, a quota might be that a deputy must make five stops or issue five tickets a day. Why or why not? How would you monitor the productivity of sheriff’s deputies? What is acceptable and not acceptable productivity?
Does not want ticket quotas and doesn’t believe in being stat-driven. Deputies should be activity-driven. Wants deputies to be out of their vehicles, talking to people and interacting with the public, and targeting specific areas where residents have complained about crime or speeding. Supervisors should be seeing what deputies are doing and talking to them. Deputies can make positive impacts on residents by stopping them and talking about accidents. Several ways of monitoring productivity. “If you stop enough cars, you’ll have arrests. If you do enough patrols, you’ll have tickets.” Deputies prefer different activities, and supervisors should coach and manage their teams and recognize hard work.
Police departments across the nation have purchased military-style equipment, including tanks and other armored vehicles. Some have questioned whether local departments need that type of equipment and whether that is the best use of tax dollars. The sheriff’s office currently has a former military armored vehicle and M-16 rifles. What else, if anything, do you think is needed?
Sheriff’s office has everything it needs. The MRAP, a large armored vehicle previous used by the military but now used to get SWAT team members safely in and out of incidents, was donated. Knows as a hostage negotiator and working hand-in-hand with the SWAT team, it keeps officers and negotiators safe. Says it also sends a message that the situation needs to be resolved. Said deputies need the rifles and are highly trained to carry them. Officers couldn’t be sent into a school shooting with a handgun. “We would be outgunned and set up for failure if we didn’t have that tool.”
Who will you appoint as your chief deputy, chief of investigations and commander of the road officers? If you haven’t made that decision, what process would you use and what are you looking for in those leaders?
Has not made that decision. Part of the plan goes back to recruitment and retention at other facilities. Would look over letters of interest from people. Wants to hear what they may bring, their thoughts and the culture they want to promote. Chief deputy would need to serve with honor and integrity and be respected by his or her peers. Chief deputy should believe in change and community partnership, treat staff with respect and work alongside staff when needed and believe in training even difficult deputies and treating them fair. Chief deputy should also be willing to meet with the public and be personable. Plans to recruit and promote from within. Also would like to recruit female merit deputies because department does not have any.
What, if any, changes need to be made to best patrol White River Township, where the majority of the sheriff’s office constituents live?
Would implement targeted patrols and involve residents as partners. “I would really focus on involving the residents, and looking at stats over the last six to 12 months.” White River Township includes high traffic areas, and the population requires a lot of attention. Financially, people are drawn to that area and target that area for crime.
Under what circumstances would you ask the state police to investigate crimes instead of the sheriff’s office?
Any incidents that would involve staff, a national security threat or a mass casualty.
What will you do to avoid conflicts of interest? What conflicts of interest would you have, if elected? Do any of your relatives or friends work for the sheriff’s office? Would you ever hire a relative to work at the jail or for the sheriff’s office? Why or why not?
Would try to recruit outside own relation, but can’t discriminate if a relative applies, qualifies and tests. Abstain from the vote on the hiring and stay away from supervision. You recruit the most qualified person for the position. If an employee is considered a friend or relative, wouldn’t have direct supervision.
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Name: Kirby Cochran
Party: Republican
Residence: Franklin
Family: Wife, Lori, and two grown children, plus one daughter who lives at home
Occupation: Detective at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
Educational background: Graduate of Franklin Community High School, Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and the academy’s jail officer school and Indiana Department of Correction Field Officer Training Academy. Also studied criminal justice at Kaplan College.
Political experience: Precinct committeeman
Memberships: Founder and president of Friends for Life, member of Fraternal Order of Police #154, Emmanuel Church, Indiana Sheriff’s Association, KIC-IT, Johnson County Sheriff’s Ride, Franklin Rotary Club, Indiana Association of Hostage/Crisis Negotiators, advocate and volunteer for the Indiana Donor Network.
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