[Vision2020] Sheriff: Hiring Decisions Made Above Board

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (August 21, 2007) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with thanks and
appreciation to Latah County Sheriff Wayne Rausch -

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HIS VIEW: Sheriff: Hiring decisions made above board 
By Wayne Rausch

The Latah County Sheriff's Office has been in the news frequently of late,
and I have been much in the public eye due to controversial topics being
brought forth for discussion. 

The latest of these was posted in the INK commentary Aug. 10. I was paid a
visit last week by members of the Human Rights Commission out of concern for
what had been passed on by Vera White. I have never considered the column to
be much more than amusing gossip and was surprised that apparently some took
it very seriously.

The hiring practices and policies here at the sheriff's office are founded
in federal and state law, county policy and in my own convictions of
fairness. I do not ask any applicant their religious affiliations or
preferences. I do not recruit applicants from particular church
congregations, and I have never directed any employee of mine to do so in my
stead.

I do hire applicants based upon their qualifications and their ability to
pass the scrutiny of a detailed background investigation. Once the applicant
has completed a detailed questionnaire, they are invited to a written test.
The test is purchased from a nationally recognized purveyor of law
enforcement testing materials. The background packet delves into work
history, financial history, rental or home ownership history, and the
all-important criminal history.

The next step includes a polygraph and a psychological examination conducted
by professionals in these fields. As a matter of personal preference, I do
not become involved in this process until the selection board presents me
with a list of the successful applicants. I then make my decision based on
the recommendations of the selection board.

The e-mail that my employee sent out was without my knowledge or approval,
but was not done with the intent to cause any embarrassment to the office or
to demean any of the employees. It was done by a young employee who didn't
realize the effect the e-mail would produce, but who was mature enough to
send out an apology to everyone when she realized what she had inadvertently
done. Her selection did not reflect a poor choice on my part as some have
suggested, as she tested head and shoulders above her competition, and
earned the right to be in her position. People who ridicule others while
hiding behind anonymous monikers in chat-room forums are neither brave nor
clever.

Our jailers are hard-working men and women who have dangerous jobs. They do
not have time to read books during their regular working hours, but are free
to read or watch the television during their assigned lunch break. They are
fed while at work, because they cannot leave the jail. The "free food" is
usually a bologna sandwich, a small bag of chips and a cookie. In other
words, the same thing those incarcerated in the facility are being fed.

I am a Christian, and I make no apology for it. Like all other citizens of
the United States, I am entitled to worship whom I choose in the manner I
see fit. On the other hand, I do not insist that any employee here share my
views, and I do not engage in religious discussions while at the office. As
a Christian, I do not find humor in commentaries that demean my beliefs, but
do defend the right of the author of those commentaries to freely express
her point of view.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)