Harris running for Grant County sheriff

Joe Harris wants to be the sheriff of Grant County, having served for over 20 years in law enforcement following eight years in the marines. 

Harris started his career in law enforcement as an officer with the city of Quincy in 2001, then working for the Grant County Sheriff's Office in 2006, working for a year for the state attorney general in 2015, then as the chief of police in Mattawa until 2021.

He finished his doctorate in Public Administration earlier this year, earning the degree remotely through Capella University, which is based in Minnesota.

He also has bachelor's and master's degrees in Intelligence Studies from American Public University and is fluent in Spanish.

"One thing that pushed me into law enforcement," he told The Star on the phone June 21, "is I hate bullies. I absolutely despise bullies. It turns my stomach, and it pisses me off to no end to see somebody get taken advantage of. That's what led me down the path. In the last 20 years I've enjoyed what I've done. I've had some really substantial impact on some communities around Grant County. It's a great career but it's not for everybody.

He said that recent legislation is creating problems for law enforcement, including laws related to pursuing criminals in vehicles.

"What's happening is police are getting behind a suspect vehicle to pull it over, and they drive like an idiot, steering into the oncoming lane, turning their lights off at night, and the cops then aren't allowed to pursue and have to let them go."

He said that changes like this "pretty much gutted law enforcement," and that changes like these are "by far the biggest obstacle across the state for law enforcement, including Grant County."

"I agree that law enforcement needs reform," he said, "but they're doing it in such a partisan manner it's creating more problems than it's facing."

Harris also said that all parts of the county, including the Coulee area in the north part of the county, have a right to expect the same level of service from the county sheriff's office as more populated areas like Moses Lake or Ephrata. A key part of his platform is to set up precinct offices in Coulee City in the north part of the county, and in George to the south to address this need.

"The county has an agreement with Coulee City to provide them with services," he explained, "so Coulee City provides some office space. My plan in the north part of the county is to build upon that, sit down with Coulee City, Hartline and Grand Coulee, and expand the footprint in Coulee City and expand it into a functional precinct with evidence lockers, internet access, desks, chairs, a place for administrative staff to sit. ... When deputies are assigned to the north end of the county, that's the office they'd work out of."

In his time working for the sheriff's office, he said that "one of the biggest roadblocks was having to constantly go back to Ephrata." He estimated his drives from the south part of the county regularly to process evidence or do other administrative work took hours each day, driving hundreds of miles daily.

A staffed and equipped precinct office in Coulee City up north or in George down south would mean that "the deputy doesn't have to go to Moses Lake or Ephrata. Now the response time to Grand Coulee gets cut because they're coming from Coulee City instead of Ephrata," saving driving time and costs, and increasing the police presence in these areas.

"Just the visibility of police reduces crime," he said, "and you get to know them and develop relationships with them. The ripple effects are pretty huge. For theft, deputies are closer and then have more time to investigate those cases, which should mean a higher closure rate and increased solvability rate."

He said theft is a huge complaint among those he has spoken to while campaigning for sheriff, with a related complaint being that people arrested for theft aren't then booked into jail. 

"My priority is to listen to communities. And if theft is the issue, then if we need to hold jail space for these guys, then that's what we'll do."

"Corrections is one of the primary statutory functions of the sheriff," he said.

He noted that a work-release facility is currently closed in Ephrata due to a lack of funding, and explained that a work release program allows people charged with a crime to pay off their fines by picking up trash on the side of the road, for example.

"A lot of people in jail don't need to be in jail," he said. "I'm a big believer in intervention and prevention. Part of law enforcement is to educate and work with the community to facilitate people not committing the crime in the first place. If we can take extra time to give people the intervention they need to not commit crimes, why would we not do that? The job of police is not to just go arrest everybody; the job of policing is to make the community safe. Let's not just treat the symptoms, let's start treating the cause." 

He said that if the state wouldn't fund such a program, Grant County could find a way to do it. He noted the importance of grant funding for many aspects of the sheriff's department and having people work for them that are skilled grant writers.

Another issue facing the sheriff's office, he said, is recruiting and retaining employees.

"How about we spend a little money on a bona fide recruitment specialist and help us build a viable and sustainable recruitment program?" he said. "It will cost a little money up front, but if you look at the cost of replacing a full-time employee, the cost is 1.5 - 2 times the cost of their annual salary. So if we spend some money up front and get a consulting group to save on that program, there's huge savings."

Harris, who currently lives outside of the city of George with his wife and three children, attended June's First Friday event in Grand Coulee and said he will attend the one in July as well, with that event currently scheduled for July 1 at North Dam Park.

He is running for the position against James Baker and Joey Kriete, whose campaigns The Star will also cover before the Aug. 2 primary that will narrow the race down to two candidates before the Nov. 8 general election.

Current Sheriff Tom Jones announced earlier this month that he is retiring July 1.