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Sheriff outlines vehicle purchases, staffing challenges and drug enforcement results
Summary
Sheriff Lang asked to buy two Dodge Durangos and one Dodge Ram pickup within budget, reported rising calls for service and described a multi-county interdiction that yielded arrests and seizures; commissioners approved the vehicle purchases.
Sheriff Lang told the Ramsey County Board on March 4 the department will buy two Dodge Durangos and one Dodge Ram pickup this year and outlined staffing challenges and drug enforcement results.
Lang said the department is budgeted for three vehicles and recommended two Durangos and one pickup for equipment compatibility and officer needs; the three-vehicle budget is $160,000 and the recommended bids fit that allocation. Commissioners moved, seconded and approved a motion to purchase the vehicles and to sell or auction the high-mileage vehicles taken out of service.
The sheriff provided year-end statistics showing increases in calls for service and casework: the department’s calls rose from 6,186 in 2023 to 6,938 in 2024, and cases rose from 218 to 310 (a 42.2% increase). Lang said traffic stops, DUI arrests, domestic calls and other service categories all increased.
Lang also reported on the county’s drug task force and a recent multi-county interdiction, “Operation Cross Line,” staged with neighboring counties, state and federal partners. He said the task force handled 56 cases in the year, 87 suspects (27 federally indicted) and seized significant quantities of narcotics including methamphetamine, marijuana, fentanyl pills and powder, oxycodone and other items; he said the federal cases allow prosecutors to pursue longer sentences. For Operation Cross Line, Lang reported about 67 traffic stops, 15 arrests and seizures of cash and narcotics.
On staffing, Lang said the department is short-staffed but has made offers to candidates, including a veteran leaving the Marines, and hopes to be fully staffed by month’s end though retention and pay remain challenges when attracting officers with years of experience.
Commissioners approved the vehicle purchases without a recorded roll-call tally. The sheriff indicated the department will auction or sell vehicles that are no longer fit for front-line use rather than accept low trade-in values.
