Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo is sending a “tough on crime” message in his race for governor on the Republican side of the ticket. But that effort took what some might call a withering hit over the weekend, from one of Lombardo’s former detectives.
On Sunday, in the Las Vegas Sun, Kirk Jordan took Lombardo to task.
He said he put politics above public safety when he broke up the gang and narcotics units, along with other specialty squads. It was an effort Lombardo said at the time was to decentralize the department and increase efficiency. Just the opposite happened, he said.
One critic does not a campaign make, but will Lombardo’s efforts to portray himself as the tough law man in the race against incumbent Democrat Steve Sisolak work?
State of Nevada contributor John L. Smith joined us with his perspective on the law, according to Sheriff Joe Lombardo, and the state of the race in general.
“[Decentralizing is] one of those things that works on paper, and that in the right circumstances with the right people, I have to believe that there are departments out there that have shown success using that kind of model,” Smith said. “However, when you have a department with a lot of veterans on it, Metro is a growing department, but it also has its highest IQ performers tending to be the ones with the most experience on the job under their belts. So, when you've got those folks being moved around, you're going to hear grousing. But you're also potentially going to be damaging that what you're best at.”
Smith said now is the time Lombardo’s critics are standing up to question his crime rates, and whether decentralization worked.
He said it’s important to look at the whole job of the sheriff.
“Let's be really frank here, Southern Nevada is growing rapidly, [and] that department does not always grow along with it. And there are going to be statistics that go up and down over the years,” he said.
The increase in Southern Nevada’s crime has also mimicked that of the nation.
Smith didn’t think former President Donald Trump’s visit (where he referred to Las Vegas as a “cesspool of crime”) as a good thing. “I thought it was an unforced error.”
Though, will his endorsement from Trump continue to cause issues?
“I don't think it serves him well,” Smith said. “And maybe he can spin it a different way down the stretch. Maybe, you know, Trump fades from public view, I tend to doubt it. I think it's a problem for him coming down the stretch.”
John L. Smith, contributor, State of Nevada
