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Travis ready to implement new programs in county
By Heather M. Goodwin, hgoodwin@starlocalnews.com
There's a new sheriff in town, and he is ready to get started on his top priorities for Denton County.
William Travis defeated incumbent sheriff Benny Parkey in May's primary election. Since there is not a Democrat candidate for the office, Travis will be Denton County's new sheriff beginning Jan. 1.
"I was overwhelmed. We were up in early voting, and I was winning nearly all the precincts, but I didn't want to get too excited," Travis said. "Around 9:30 the night of the elections, I began to really get excited. I knew I won when Sheriff Parkey called to congratulate me."
I think we were able to get our message out, and I'm proud of the people who worked on this campaign," Travis said. "It says a lot about people who do so much during a campaign just to help someone else."
Travis said he spent everyday from 4 p.m. until dusk going door-to-door, meeting and talking with people about the campaign. He said he and his team hit 22 cities within the county and talked to most of the city councils.
"I really give credit to the people who helped me with the campaign," Travis said. "They're really the ones who helped me get my name out there."
Prior to taking office Jan. 1, Travis must take and pass the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards (TCLEOSE). He said during the next six months, he also wants to meet with Parkey to discuss how the county currently stands. He said he would love to use this time to work and get to know the department, but he can't begin that until he officially takes office.
"I would love to get involved now and take a hand in helping to build the new jail and get to know the department," Travis said. "I want to do something a sheriff hasn't ever done. I want to wear the uniform, drive the car and be out on the streets. Once I get into this job, I want to give it my all."
As of Jan. 1, Travis said there are a few keys items he set as high priority.
"I'm coming in with things I want to do, but I have to be careful because I might not be able to get the funding from the Commissioner's Court," Travis said.
On the top of his list is a department dedicated to investigating internet crime against children. The program would track pedophiles in the Denton County area.
"Right now, there's nothing in place to track them, and I want to create a unit that would be responsible for that," Travis said. "There is a system that is part of the FBI that goes out to all other states, tracking pedophiles. I think we should use that."
Travis said there is a task force that the attorney general can set up. He said the computer programming for the tracking and equipment could all be paid for with grants.
"All the county would be out is the money for room and board for the agents to train," Travis said.
Travis said a sex crimes unit is a must to protect the county's children. He said he wants to not only protect his daughter, but all the children in the county. He said he also envisions the sex crimes task force working with CASA of Denton County, which is a program that pairs volunteers as court advocates with abused or neglected children in court. The advocates represent the best interests of the children.
"I want child molesters to beware, because I'm coming for them," Travis said. "I want to work with Dan Leal [executive director for CASA Denton County] and be very proactive in this area.
Travis said there are 150 registered sex offenders in Denton County, and his goal is to cut that number in half within four years.
Another top priority for Travis is to set up a highway interdiction unit, which he believes would be the "moneymaker" for the department. A highway interdiction unit is a group of well-trained officers who watch state and federal highways for illegal activity.
"We have three port entries on Interstate 35E," Travis said. "We're talking about officers making seizures in the millions of dollars. This unit's job would be to heavily watch the highway. Every dollar we take from drug dealers is one less dollar I would have to ask for from the commissioner's court. They would be charged with stopping illicit drugs and money from coming into the area."
Travis said he also wants to partner with the school districts to "get the drugs out of schools."
"I think we should be harder on kids caught with drugs," Parker said. "I'm looking forward to working with the district attorney and school districts on this drug issue."
Travis said he also wants to bring back two departments to Denton County: the DWI department and the commercial enforcement unit.
"I want to re-establish both of those units," Travis said. "Companies are responsible for paying the fines for commercial vehicles so that's assured money. Also, so many people lose their lives to DWIs; I want to see those numbers come down."
When he first takes office, Travis said his fist challenge will be to fill the 32 jail positions open within Denton County.
"I want to link job openings to the Department of Defense (DOD). They have discipline and hard-work ethics," Travis said. "Another challenge will be running the 586 employees within the departments, and I'm ready for that challenge."
Travis said as sheriff he is responsible for helping keep the cities within Denton County safe. He said the sheriff's department is supposed to support the cities in keeping its residents safe.
"I want to show people that we're not going to be easy on them," Travis said. "We're here to keep our residents safe."
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