2023 Candidate Profile: James Herring For Arlington County Sheriff

ARLINGTON, VA — James Herring, a corporal in the Arlington County Police Department, is seeking the Democratic nomination for Arlington County Sheriff in the June 20 primary election.

Prior to joining the ACPD in 2019, Herring, a lifelong Arlingtonian, was a member of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, where he trained new recruits as a field training officer.

Herring also is a veteran Army infantry officer, having served in the Virginia National Guard as a platoon leader and executive officer for a 160-soldier light infantry company.

Herring is running against acting Arlington County Sheriff Jose Quiroz and retired sheriff's office official Wanda Younger in the Democratic primary.

Early voting in Arlington County in the Democratic primary began May 5. Voting on primary election day will happen from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20.

Patch asked the three candidates for Arlington County Sheriff for their answers to the same questions. Here are Herring's responses:

Name

James Herring

Campaign website

www.sheriffjamesherring.com

Age (as of Election Day)
32

Family

I am a homeowner in South Arlington with my wife, Alyssa, and our dog and cat, Samson and Daenerys.

Education

I received a Bachelor of Science in History at University of Wisconsin-Madison (which I attended on an ROTC scholarship).

The single most pressing issue facing the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The most pressing issue is the physical and mental health of those in custody. A constant guiding principle of my campaign has been the well being of those that end up in the Arlington Adult Detention Facility. There have been eight deaths in the past ten years. The majority of people released from jail go back to the same situation they were in when they were arrested, with little to know continuing support other than the backpack full of pamphlets that they are given currently. Arlington is routinely failing those in custody both in the jail and after they leave.

We should not have “frequent fliers” with the resources our community has. Those who are repeat offenders in Arlington exist because, time and again, they have not been connected to resources that would lift them out of the carceral cycle they are in. Not only is this unacceptable, but it is unsustainable with the shrinking numbers of deputies, police, fire/ems, and dispatchers that make up the public safety apparatus for our county. If we do not connect more people to services and make a holistic effort to stop the carceral cycle they’re in, we will soon find our system more overwhelmed than it already is.

Below you will find my campaign platform where I address what I will do to solve this issue.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for Arlington County Sheriff?

I’m the only candidate with on-the-street, face-to-face law enforcement experience — experience with people in crisis, requiring split-second decision-making. That experience started in the Anacostia neighborhood of D.C. nearly a decade ago where I worked as a Field Training Officer, and continues to this day in Arlington. Having worked in D.C., which has no Sheriff’s Office, many of my duties encompassed roles that are covered by ACPD and ACSO here in Arlington.

Additionally, I am the only candidate who has led soldiers in a voluntary overseas deployment, responsible for their performance and well-being 24/7.

These experiences have given me a perspective on what it means to be a leader — strategically and tactically. This has provided me insight to observe what works at each agency or department, and some would argue, more importantly, what doesn’t work.

I am also the only Sheriff’s Office outsider — and the Office needs a leader from outside now more than ever. Communities across the country are voicing ways law enforcement needs to change, then electing those with decades of experience in the same system and expecting different results. You cannot put out a fire from inside the house.

It is time we stop looking at how long someone has been doing the job, and instead look at what they’ve been doing with the job. My opponents were both middle-to high-ranking deputies in the same Sheriff’s office that has failed to meet minimum standards leading to deaths in the jail, has lost competent deputies, and has lost nearly all connection with Arlingtonians. If they felt strongly about how the office was run, why did they not raise these concerns during the course of their combined 50 years of experience, instead waiting until an election to raise concerns only as a part of their campaign platforms? More important than listing one’s years of experience is what you learn from and can implement from that experience. I do not find the outcomes they have produced during their tenure as acceptable, nor a good demonstration of their capacity to lead.

We need a Sheriff who wants to be involved in the future of public safety in Arlington County, and who will aim for excellence in the standards of the office, rather than settle for the minimum standards of care — and still come up short. We need a Sheriff who sees the jail and the courthouse as an extension of our community. I will be that Sheriff.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

1. Increase the visibility and transparency of the Sheriff’s Office. Many people I’ve spoken to in the community are unaware there is a Sheriff’s Office. If they are aware of its existence, they don’t know what it does. They do not know that it takes roughly $47 million of the county budget, houses approximately 300 people in custody, or has 160 sworn deputies. With these numbers, the Sheriff’s Office needs to be part of the conversation on public safety; currently, it is not. The opacity of the Sheriff’s Office’s has also prevented the public from noticing the lack of transparency about its crucial public role. Since 2013, there have been eight in-custody deaths in the jail. The death in 2020 generated an investigation by the Virginia Board of Local and Regional Jails, which found the Sheriff’s Office had not provided the minimal standards of care. The office submitted a plan of corrective action — but it is not available to the public. This past February, a settlement was reached in a civil suit related to the death for $1.3 million. Were it not for the diligent reporting of ArlNow, some — or all — of these deaths would have gone unremarked. We need a Sheriff that will not actively avoid accountability, but embrace their role as an elected leader, and who will keep the public informed of everything they do — and especially, what they fail to do.

2. Lower the recidivism rate by proactively connecting people in custody with mental health, medical, housing, and other services within the jail that will follow them after they leave. As an Officer, I interact with many of the same people over and over again. As Sheriff, my goal would be to reduce these repeated encounters by using the jail as a place to connect people to services and treat the root of the problem that put them in the jail in the first place.

I want to transition away from the contracted medical services and directly hire a medical doctor to run the jail’s medical program, modeling on the existing system in place at the Arlington County Fire Department. This doctor will be expected to hire a medical staff to assist them, as well as training deputies in EMT and paramedic level medicine. A similar approach with a direct-hire psychologist and psychiatrist will allow for professional, face to face, mental health treatment to begin from point of custody, and continue past point of release — with records being available for follow-up providers. This level of care MUST continue past custody; enrolling those who need the services in Medicare and Medicaid will allow for those transitioning out of jail to have continued access to the services they need to succeed.

3. Increase collaboration with other law enforcement, government entities, and services throughout the greater Washington region. Most of the residents housed in the Arlington jail are not Arlington residents: they just happen to have been arrested in Arlington. Law enforcement agencies and government services are set up to address their specific jurisdictions, which naturally leads them to operate in silos. In this metropolitan region, where individuals are constantly crossing into multiple jurisdictions, this makes public safety much more complex. By breaking down these silos within Arlington (working more closely with the ACPD) and outside of Arlington (collaborating with surrounding jurisdictions) we can begin to tackle these big issues more holistically.

What would you do to increase the safety of people being held at the Arlington County jail and improve the operations of the jail?

As I mentioned in my responses above, providing medical and mental health care, as well as working with regional partners for housing, employment, educational training, and more will improve the safety of those in custody and hopefully see the recidivism rate decline.

A program similar to what I’m talking about has been done in Chesterfield County’s jail since 2016: HARP (Helping Addicts Recover Progressively). Arlington adopting this program with its proven track record of reducing recidivism would benefit not just our county, but the region. Of note, this program does not require people to be incarcerated to get help. An approach like this will allow us not only to help people in jail, but those who may be headed there without assistance.

What would you do to streamline the security process at Arlington County Courthouse and make it easier for residents who need to visit the various county offices inside the building?

1. Work with the various Offices, and the County, and the Courts to increase the number of services offered online to reduce the need of individuals to come in-person to the courthouse where there is limited parking and rigorous screening. This would include motorists who are issued compliance tickets (tickets that can be dismissed by showing registration has been updated, license obtained, etc.). By working with the courts and identifying a process in which people can have their violation dismissed before the court date, we'll have fewer people come to court, and encourage more people to get “compliance issues” fixed sooner to avoid court altogether.

2. For those that do have to come into the offices, I will work with the offices to post clear instructions (in multiple languages) about what is needed for various tasks (i.e. money order, stamps, envelopes, etc) so when one does arrive at the court, multiple trips in and out of security are prevented.

3. Upgrade the cell phone lockers so quarters are no longer required. Lockers can be free of charge with a temporary code for the user.

4. Increase the number of cameras and other security technology to reduce the manpower needed for the building security so they can be reallocated to working in the jail, working the courthouse, or supplementing other understaffed units.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My entire career has been in public service since the age of 18. I am a former D.C. Police Officer, where I worked the midnight shift in Anacostia and became a Field Training Officer —instructing the next generation of officers. I am currently a Corporal at the Arlington Police Department. I am also a veteran Army Infantry Officer, having been assigned in the Virginia National Guard, where I served as a Platoon Leader and Executive Officer for a 160-soldier light infantry company with over $20 million of equipment. Additionally, I am a rowing coach at Washington-Liberty High School.

Why should voters trust you?

As a former Infantry Officer and as a Police Officer, I understand the substantial power that my community entrusts me with in order to protect people and uphold the law. As someone who has worked my entire career with a body worn camera on my chest, I understand the need for transparency and accountability.

When I worked in D.C., there was (and still is) what was called “the Lewis List.” The list is kept by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and details why particular Officers cannot testify in court due to integrity/trust issues. This means those officers can not work the streets or many other units.

This creates a strain on the trustworthy Officers as the untrustworthy Officers can only work in certain positions in the Department, meaning fewer job opportunities for officers that are doing the right thing.

When I transferred over to Arlington, I learned that ACPD has no such list. If you’re found to be untrustworthy, you’re simply dismissed from service. I agree with this threshold. We have seen too often what happens when agencies operate outside of their position of trust with the community. As Sheriff, I understand that the role I would fill would have substantial authority with few checks in place. I believe the community can trust me as I will continue to operate as I always have and will answer all questions honestly.

The best advice ever shared with me was ...

You can always make more money, but you can never make more time. When I was in Field Training in D.C., a senior officer told me that just because there is all the overtime in the world does not mean that YOU have to work it. Spending time doing things you love with people you love is important for everyone. Don’t live to work, work to live.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Other than the first three years of my life, I am a lifelong Arlingtonian. I am a proud product of Arlington Public Schools, having attended Jamestown Elementary School, Williamsburg Middle School, and Yorktown High School. I have also been a homeowner in South Arlington since 2016. Arlington is my home and I care deeply about this community. As such, I have made a point of seeking endorsements, not from other politicians or political groups, but rather the small local businesses that our community knows and trusts. Some of my top endorsers include The Italian Store, Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant, and Doug Rosen, owner and president of Arrowine & Cheese.

RELATED:

• 2023 Candidate Profile: Jose Quiroz For Arlington County Sheriff
• 2023 Candidate Profile: Wanda Younger For Arlington County Sheriff
• Arlington Primary Election 2023 Early Voting Set To Begin