Commentary by Samuel Strait – June 4, 2022 You can't help but respect the man. Who you might say? Del Norte County has a new man at the helm in the Del Norte County Sheriff Department, Sheriff Garrett Scott. In a brief but telling conversation on a street corner in Crescent City during Friday's Street Fair put on by the Downtown Divas, Sheriff Scott got my attention as a man deserving of every bit of respect the office he has assumed and then some. Heading a department that it is safe to say, has had its trials for as long as this reporter can remember. The list of excuses for why that is so, is as long as the years I have resided in Del Norte County. But as they say in the movies, "there is a new sheriff in town." Clearly the new sheriff has a basic understanding of where a majority of his issues lie, that of a relatively short staffed and inexperienced group of deputies who lack the "street time" of veteran officers. Gone are many of the "old guard" that had served the County in the department for many years, replaced by "new blood" with only one or two years of experience. This coupled with a society that in Sheriff Scott's words "lack structure" to allow for any attempt at sensible law enforcement where ever that may be. Part of the responsibility lies in the "new" and permissive culture that has evolved over the past several decades in California, making it difficult for his department to do the job of enforcement. Part lies with the fact that a segment of the public now view law enforcement as "unnecessary" for society to function "correctly". This and a clear lack of a path forward within the judicial system for actually addressing criminal activity have many in law enforcement questioning the reason for "why they are doing the job in the first place". Not so for newly appointed Sheriff Scott, who sees local recruitment as a critical step forward for his department. For him the importance of having people from the community step into enforcement roles to fill out the current shortages of manpower and lack of officer retention is critical to having an effective sheriff's department into the future. Recognizable faces who have grown up in the community, Scott says will go a long way towards 'righting the ship" for his department. Rather that the posturing found so often in those that are in the ranks of the elected, Sheriff Scott quietly admitted that his path was not without difficulties and would require the support of this community for his department to "grow" into something that fit the needs of Del Norte County. For him, it is not about politics, or whether or not funding was critical for his department, but the assumption that he would be in the spotlight for what happens in the future for his department. He clearly is a man that does not need the "spotlight" to make him worthy of becoming sheriff, and is quite frankly worthy of the role he has undertaken. As he said in his parting words, " we shall see if that holds true in the future", or words to that effect. For my own part as a long standing member of the Del Norte County community, I came away with a renewed sense that something profound may be happening at the Sheriff's Office and have a renewed sense that some thing good will come of it. I am also aware that law enforcement is only one part of the total package that will address criminal activity and public safety as a part of life in this County. In order for Sheriff Scott to be successful, the other parts must complement his efforts. Wishing him the best of fortune for the future, only time will tell whether all the parts will come together and produce something that benefits the entire community.