What's new at the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office
Mar 27, 2018
Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek
What's new at the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office

Richard W. Stanek is the 27th Sheriff of Hennepin County. He  was first sworn in on January 1, 2007, was re-elected in 2010 and 2014, and is currently serving his third term.​​

As a 33-year veteran of law enforcement, Sheriff Stanek began in the Minneapolis Police Department, rising through the ranks from Patrol Officer to Commander of Criminal Investigations. While serving as a police officer, Sheriff Stanek was elected five times to the Minnesota State Legislature, where he served as Chair of the Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee. In 2003, the Governor appointed him Commissioner of Public Safety & Director of Homeland Security for Minnesota.

Upon taking office in 2007, Sheriff Stanek redirected the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office mission to include fighting violent crime, leveraging technology to prevent crime, and enhancing outreach with diverse communities. These initiatives are conducted in partnerships with federal and local law enforcement agencies, and they have contributed to an historic decrease in violent crime countywide.

Sheriff Stanek created new crime-fighting units at the Sheriff’s Office that serve law enforcement agencies and communities countywide. The Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force conducts focused investigations on the county’s most violent offenders. The Criminal Information Sharing & Analysis unit works with law enforcement partners to provide analysis on crime trends and criminal activity in an effort to prevent and solve crime.