It’s not often that a geology student drops their plans to examine rocks and become a police officer, but a job catching shoplifters at a Shopko led Aaron Hanson to leave the University of Nebraska-Omaha and join the Omaha Police Department.

“It allowed me to work with and interact with off-duty and former Omaha police officers. Talking with them, knowing I could use my problem-solving skills as an officer, so I decided to apply,” said Hanson, a lifelong Omaha resident.

With more than 25 years of experience as an Omaha police officer – working street patrol, canine, and as a supervisor for the gang unit ¬– Hanson said he believes that his experience qualifies him to serve as Douglas County sheriff. He’s the Republican candidate for the open position in the November general election.

Community policing can be an effective part of a data driven approach to law enforcement, said Hanson, leader of Omaha’s fugitive task force.

“There can be smart approaches to criminal justice, to law enforcement, to prison issues, to supervision issues that can have truly positive outcomes,” he said.

To get more information on Aaron Hanson’s campaign and to contribute visit: aaronhansonforsheriff.com.

Serving as a legislative liaison for the Omaha Police Officers Association – as well as a volunteer with the Nebraska Center for Workforce Development – introduced him to various ways to develop community relationships. Working with teenagers and previously incarcerated adults seeking a new life, the Workforce group introduced them to skilled trades as an attempt to help jump start a career path, he said.

“That really was the final piece that gave me a well-rounded, empathetic outlook that brought me to my balanced approach today,” Hanson said.

While crime needs to be addressed, social issues can’t be ignored, he said.

“We must be tough on crime, to keep people safe from violence.” Hanson continues, “We need to keep people from having their property stolen. When a person has their car stolen, it’s a disruption to their family, their careers. Their entire life.

“To truly get long-term benefits disrupting crime and poverty, we have to be ready to give people, worthy people, who want to do better, a second chance,” concludes Hanson.

Simple things to most people, such as obtaining a driver’s license, challenge others seeking to reenter society, Hanson said.

“One thing that I’ve found is, what really stands in the way of disrupting cycles of poverty and crime, is that less employers aren’t willing to take a chance on someone with a reentry background,” he said. “What really stands in the way of people getting into a great job or trade is a lack of soft skills, like time management, and family problems, because they can’t find day care, have child support issues.”

If probation officers, for example, don’t have time to physically follow up with people and ensure they’re going to work, arriving on time, receiving drug or alcohol treatment, then attempts to help people succeed in life fail, Hanson said.

Since probation officers are unarmed, they sometimes have issues visiting some clients, he said. That’s where the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office can step in, Hanson explains.

Believing a small number of people commit most crimes, Hanson said he would create a task force of deputies, which would work with probation and pretrial officers on a balanced approach between administrative and physical follow up.

“In Douglas County, we have a pretrial release program, where the judge sets a bond, and the person is released after paying it,” he said. “Corrections is responsible for supervising that person, and they do a good job of administratively supervising people. But no one is tasked with providing street supervision of those individuals.

“I’ve found that county sheriffs who do street-level supervision, to ensure people – like repeat offenders – are following those court order terms not only save money in unnecessary incarceration costs, but they’re also seeing success in reducing crime rates.”