In the twilight hours of 2022, Darrin Wallace was sworn in as the sheriff of Grays Harbor County, taking over from retiring Sheriff Rick Scott.

Wallace, a former Coast Guard officer, joined the sheriff’s office as a deputy after retiring from the service, where he worked up and down the West Coast aboard smaller vessels built for heavy weather, ending his time as commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor in Westport.

We sat down with Wallace to talk to the new man in the highest position of the county’s law enforcement agency, acting as chief conservator of the peace over more than 2,000 square miles of Washington.

Editor’s note:Answers have been edited for style and clarity.

Did you ever see yourself becoming sheriff?

“Not at all,” Wallace said. “I loved being a deputy. There was a lot of freedom to go do what you needed to do. That’s how I learned to be a cop, do community-oriented policing.”

What are some things you’re bringing from the Coast Guard that can help here?

“I think the teamwork aspect of the Coast Guard, bringing that to the (sheriff’s office). More cohesive teamwork than we had in the past,” Wallace said. “It wasn’t horrible, but I think we can do a better job of that.”

Sheriff Rick Scott, right, the outgoing sheriff, swears in Darrin Wallace, left as the sheriff of Grays Harbor County on Dec. 30, 2022. (Courtesy photo / Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office)

What’s your vision for the seat you’ve been elected to?

“Continue on the path that I was taught. Continue the legacy that (previous sheriffs) laid down before. We have some antiquated buildings and infrastructure for the sheriff’s office,” Wallace said. “Getting a new jail is my highest priority. Our jail is 45 years old. It’s expensive to run.”

Mechanical issues, including the boilers, elevators, locks and layout of the current facility make it cumbersome to run, Wallace said. While land hasn’t been selected yet, Wallace said he intends to see the new facility constructed like the Skagit County Jail, a single-floor design that minimizes inefficiency in dealing with inmates. The estimated cost of such a facility, pre-pandemic, was about $80 million, Wallace said.

“Our jail right now is vertical in nature, which is cumbersome,” Wallace said. “The Skagit County Jail is a linear jail. The command center is in the middle, and you can observe around you.”

What’s the timeline for a new facility?

Forward progress on a new county jail is his goal for the end of this four-year term as sheriff, Wallace said.

“I would like to try and have the paperwork signed to get the jail. I’d like to have the jail approved and signatures on paper to get the jail built,” Wallace said. “The location is gonna be wherever the commissioners tell us we can build it. We do not have that location.”

As more scrutiny is placed on departments nationwide, is the sheriff’s office changing how it operates?

“We’re implementing body cameras. That was part of the (American Rescue Plan Act). We spent $900,000 to outfit all the deputies and patrol cars with cameras. We’re also putting cameras in interview rooms,” Wallace said. “Hopefully in the next two weeks, we should be online with everything.”

Openness and transparency is also a key part of Wallace’s agenda to reduce the opacity of the department and communicate with residents.

“Just try to be more open with the public,” Wallace said. “We’re good at communicating what we’re doing at the sheriff’s office. I don’t ever want that to diminish; I want that to increase.”

Many of the local departments are facing staffing issues. How’s the sheriff’s office?

Right now, patrol side, we’re one down,” Wallace said. “I believe we’re down 4 to 5 corrections deputies, and I want to say four support specialists.”

Wallace also mentioned a number of promotions that had gone through, including promoting Detective Sergeant Paul Logan to chief civil deputy, Patrol Sergeant Rich Ramirez to detective sergeant, and Deputy Corey Parris to patrol sergeant.

What’s the biggest criminal issue the department faces?

“We’ve had a lot of stolen vehicles the last couple years, especially with the new laws passed,” Wallace said. “Catalytic converter thefts are down. Stealing stuff for drugs, that’s continuous.”

Wallace said he hopes to be proactive in the future instead of being caught on the back foot.

“One of our goals to combat that drug crisis is to put that proactive team together. We’d send a group of 3 to 4 detectives undercover to investigate,” Wallace said. “Criminals are not dumb. They don’t just hang out in one spot for a year. We’re trying to keep up with the game, if not get ahead of the game.”

Any other big changes coming up?

“I want to continue that open communication and improve on that. We’re looking to do that social media. We’re not very good at giving the positive stuff we’re doing,” Wallace said. “Everywhere I’ve gone during the campaign, everyone loved the sheriff’s office. I’d like to praise our deputies for doing good things.”

Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@thedailyworld.com.