If you’ve ever heard me speak about the sheriff’s office, I am certain I said it is an understaffed yet a highly functioning organization. With only 24 deputies to cover our vast geographical area we provide an exceptional service. Geographically speaking, York County is one of the largest counties in the United States.

Crime Control

It is difficult to ascertain how “well” any police department performs. In business, you may look at sales figures, profit margins, or for those technical types, the company’s return on investment. In police work, a citizen may review the Uniform Crime Reports statistics to ascertain how well a police department is performing.

The FBI started the Uniform Crime Reports in 1930, and currently more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies voluntarily provide statistics. Crimes are divided into two categories: Part I crimes are significant property crimes, arson and violent offenses, while Part II crimes are less severe misdeeds.

York County Sheriff’s Office

The sheriff’s office fares very well in the UCR department. The most predominant crime challenge we face is property crimes, specifically burglaries, which are fueled by the quest for illegal drugs.

The sheriff’s office “clearance” rate for burglaries consistently hovers around 40 percent, while the average agency clears only about 18 percent of its burglaries. How does this understaffed rural law enforcement agency do it? The secret is the quality of our staff and the follow-up work that is done long after the preliminary police report is filed.

Most aspiring law enforcement students and young officers want to be detectives. Hollywood has portrayed a glorious image of detectives wearing expensive suits, cracking the big case and always getting the girl.

Detective Bill Vachon’s work, however, is not glamorous. He usually wears rough-duty clothing or coveralls because he is our evidence technician and his work often entails crawling under a vehicle, dusting for fingerprints or processing seized items in hopes of connecting a suspect to a particular crime.

He does crack the big cases, but usually that work is done in the York County Sheriff’s Office crime lab after hours of analysis.

Unsung Hero

A few months ago, the sheriff’s office raided a “drug house.” We arrested three offenders on drug charges and seized a cornucopia of illegal drugs. The residence contained so many different types of drugs, it was described as the “Baskin Robbins” of drug houses. The sheriff’s office prominently displayed the seizure and invited the news media to our display.

After the cameras left and the sound bites were secured, everybody left the room ”“ except Vachon. Again, he is the guy behind the scenes, away from the camera, ensuring the evidence is well-preserved and the chain of custody remains intact. He was instrumental in creating the display and maintaining custody of it the entire time it was out of the secured evidence room. If a defense attorney can show that evidence could have been tampered with, that evidence may be held as unreliable, and a judge may actually throw it out, jeopardizing a successful prosecution.

Veteran of Law Enforcement

A former M1A1 Abrams tank crewman serving in what was West Germany and later becoming a drill sergeant, Vachon does not seek the limelight. Born and raised in the Berwick area, he entered the U.S. Army after graduating from Noble High School in 1988.

After being honorably discharged, he started his law enforcement career at the Berwick Police Department in 1993 and transferred to the Kittery Police Department in 2001. He began working at the sheriff’s office in 2006.

He served as a patrol deputy and a school resource officer before being assigned to the detective unit three years ago.

He thoroughly enjoys his role as the man behind the scenes, processing evidence, maintaining the property room and working his cases.

While subject to making calls out of the office, Vachon enjoys the Monday-through-Friday schedule, which allows for increased family time, and he is able to be more active in his church. Vachon cherishes his free time with his wife and four children, Zach, Katie, Brandon and Meagan.

That’s right ”“ while his actual work might not live up the Hollywood image, he did, in fact, get the girl ”“ his spouse, Ruthie, of 20 years.

— William L. King Jr. is chief deputy of the York County Sheriff’s Department.