Unified agency a loss for sheriff — and gain
For Kennard, that metamorphosis means letting go of nearly all of the policing power and 350 deputies he has overseen for the past 16 years.
"The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office will no longer be what it has been known for during 150 years — a premier law enforcement agency in the valley," Kennard said. "You don't know how hard that is for me. It is devastating for me."
At the same time, however, Kennard was the key official pushing for the creation of the new Unified Police Department that will combine unincorporated land and five cities under one central police agency.
The proposed department is set to be up and running by December 2006, when it will officially assume the traditional police responsibility of the sheriff's office. Although Kennard will still hold on to jurisdiction over the jail, courts and canyon patrols, he will lose 275 of his 350 deputies and will hand over most of his squad cars, canine units and police assets to the new agency.
When the switch is all over, Kennard estimates he'll be losing roughly 25 percent of his staff and about a third of his duties.
Kennard said he chose to give up those duties because he could foresee annexations and incorporations would continue to eat away at the county sheriff's office. Most recently, Draper and Taylorsville pulled their contracts with Salt Lake County to form their own departments.
That trend, Kennard said, would leave a fragmented county with disparate agencies each paying for resources without any collaboration. The new Unified Department was needed, Kennard added, even though it meant taking himself out of the policing picture.
"It's not something that I relish doing, but it's something that needed to be done," Kennard said. "My emotions are running the entire gamut."
As an elected official, Kennard will still hold on to his statutory duties to run the jail, perform search and rescues, provide court security, handle special investigations and head up the county's homeland security. Kennard will also play a role in the Unified Police Department as a member of the new agency's governing board.
The 350 deputies in the sheriff's office have been particularly unsettled by the impending changes, Kennard said, asking questions about who will get shifted to the new department and how compensation will compare to their county post.
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