Steele County Sheriff’s Race 2022

In an effort to keep our readers as informed as possible about the upcoming election and the choices they are offered, we are asking the candidates of several races to weigh in on the issues.

That includes the race for Steele County Sheriff. Incumbent Sheriff Lon Thiele is facing challenger Darrin Helget, who is currently a deputy sheriff for the SCSO.

Every week through Nov. 2, we will publish the answer to a weekly question, designed just for the sheriff candidates. There will be a word limit; the only editing we’ll do is if the answer is too long.

We sincerely hope this is beneficial to you, our reader, about the issues affecting Steele County, where the candidates stand and how they may address those concerns.

Here's this week's question:

Things have definitely changed since the Steele County Detention Center was built nearly 20 years ago. It has a "rated capacity" of 154 beds, but for the past several months, the daily population has hovered around 25-30. Typically, between 6-10 of those detainees are from outside of Steele County. Dodge County will soon send its detainees to Olmsted County; Rice County, too, will be ending its contract with Steele County, once a facility is built in Faribault. There has been a shift within the justice system, too, with fewer people held in custody until trial/resolution.

All of that to say: What would you propose the county do to make the most of that 58,000-square-foot building? What ideas do you have for its use? 

Answers were limited to 300 words.

Steele County Deputy Darrin Helget: As a cop, having a jail is imperative. In recent years, many circumstances have led to lower population at our jail. A couple weeks ago I stated we were at approximately 20 percent capacity. We are still at 20 percent capacity. The first challenge I will tackle is the “revolving door” of correctional officers. While we have numerous dedicated individuals working at the jail, we must stabilize the turnover. I will meet with staff, both correctional officers and jail administration to determine the reason(s) staff are leaving. Frequent overtime and on-call status lead to burnout. We must take care of staff and allow them to enjoy their days off.

I have several ideas to better use the jail. However, as a current patrol deputy, I am not in a position to promote any of these, but once elected, I will begin the work immediately with the appropriate personnel. It would be improper for me to publicly discuss my ideas without first meeting with jail staff and administration. They will play a vital role in implementing any changes or improvements. One thing we must foster is old relationships and bring back lost contracts, this is why a 154-bed jail was planned and built 20 some years ago.

I will also meet with members of our justice system (judges, county attorneys, defense attorneys and community corrections) to determine how we can better protect the community. We must move forward and utilize our facility as best we can. I will work with the county commissioners to determine the future of the jail, but again, I believe we need the jail as it plays a vital role in public safety.

Steele County Sheriff Lon Thiele: The Department of Corrections (DOC) enforces regulations of jails throughout the state of Minnesota. Prior to 2003, the DOC advised past administration they needed to build or close the old jail due to antiquated areas and lack of program space.

The new Steele County Detention Center (SCDC) was opened in 2003. The facility was designed as a 154-bed housing unit with an operational rating of a 138-bed capacity. It may appear as a large square foot usage, but a lot of the space includes the garage, training room, intake areas, etc., not just the cells. At that time, there was overcrowding in a lot of detention centers, so other counties decided to house their inmates with Steele County. The DOC eventually forced the other counties to build or remodel and when they did, they no longer needed to house their inmates with Steele County.

The current administration inherited the issue of a large facility and lack of inmates. Also, the Average Daily Population (ADP) isn’t in our control and is lower than it usually is since COVID. The SCDC administration and I have analyzed the future inmate trends and it appears to be averaging around 40 inmates. Seeing the trend mentioned we have adjusted our operations and physical layout to reflect our future needs and obligations as a detention center for Steele County. We have already completed steps to modify a housing unit to effectively house detainees and successfully save the taxpayer a significant amount of dollars in staff reduction annually. The modifications have allowed us to focus more on housing Steele County inmates and Steele County responsibilities. The Commissioners have also discussed options of relocating the sheriff’s office to the SCDC.

We will continue to be watchful and address the concerns and obligations we have to Steele County residents.