Klatt pledges more transparency from sheriff’s office

Daniel Klatt has served as Carroll County sheriff for a little more than two weeks, but he’s no stranger to the sheriff’s office.

Klatt spent more than 15 years as a deputy sheriff, rising to the rank of lieutenant before he left the sheriff’s office in late 2017. He defeated four other candidates to win the 2022 Republican primary without a runoff last May and was unopposed in the November general election.

In an interview on Friday, Jan. 13, Klatt said one of his top priorities is ensuring that the sheriff’s office is “more open and transparent than it’s been in the past.” “Trying to be more responsive to what the public wants and their needs and keeping them advised of what’s going on and and in the loop to the best of our ability,” Klatt said. “Obviously, a lot of what we do is sensitive, but you can’t just completely ignore that you’re doing anything, either. And I think it’s important that, people elected me to be in this position and they have the right to know what’s going on. They’re paying for it.”

As far as crime in the county, Klatt said theft and drugs are the biggest problems.

“You can’t have one without the other,” he said. “That is by far the number one problem. It just takes getting out and making traffic stops and extra patrolling out in the county and high-traffic areas. We need to be out moving around. That’s big.”

In terms of staffing, Klatt said the jail and dispatch center are fully staffed.

“They were very big problems last year,” the sheriff said. “We had a lot of good people apply the first of the year and we were able to get that filled up.”

There are two openings for deputies, Klatt said, with one deputy retiring last week.

Klatt also has brought in plenty of experience. Capt. Alan Hoos, who served as chief deputy under former sheriff Bob Grudek, has returned to that role. Bruce Belin, a former police chief in Nixa, Mo., and former instructor at the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Camden, has more than 40 years of law enforcement experience and oversees the patrol division. Steve Callas, who has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience in Riverside, Calif., is the interim jail administrator. And Pam Webb, who has more than 25 years of experience with the sheriff’s office, has returned as administrative assistant.

“I would never have run if she wasn’t coming back,” Klatt said. “She’s the backbone of this department. That’s the most important position in this building, and she knows what she’s doing.”

Klatt said his own experience makes his new job a little less daunting.

“I ran the admin for the last four years I was here, so I have a lot of background on everything thats going on,” he said.