On May 5, Hoosiers in Hamilton County lined up to vote in this year’s primary election. One of the ballots was for the county’s new sheriff. The two Republican nominees were Dustin Dixon, a lieutenant with 24 years of experience, and John Lowes, a chief deputy with more than 28 years of service in the police force. 

Dixon became the county’s new sheriff with 63% of the vote, replacing Dennis Quakenbush. Since no Democrat filed for the general election, Dixon is presumed to start his new job in 2027.  

“I am certainly in the last half of my career, if not the last third, so I wanted [to] be able to have a leadership position where I could try to make some significant differences and leave the place a little better off and prepared for the future than when I got there,” Dixon said. 

Dixon will be picking up some new responsibilities with his position, such as management of the county jail and arrested individuals. Every individual processed in jail will be provided with medical care and food as well as court hearings. 

“We transport between other facilities, so if someone were to be in a prison somewhere and they have a hearing back here on their case, we have to go get them and bring them back.” 

They cover other transportation as well, including out-of-state warrant extradition. If a citizen has a warrant from Hamilton County but lives in Florida, it is his responsibility to retrieve them. He also transports children to the separate juvenile facility for Hamilton County. Furthermore, it is the sherrif’s responsibility to secure the very courthouse and processes. 

“Whether that be a subpoena, eviction, writ of assistance [or] any order that the quarter judges push out for service as a responsibility.” 

Not only does his position carry all these responsibilities, but his required service will also increase. The courts have recently expanded, and the population is growing, requiring more attention towards enforcement. 

“There has [been] more demand on our deputies at the courthouse, because there are two new courts to keep secure and two new judges that will have orders issued that need served,” Dixon said. “The jail is probably going to see an increase in population just because proportionally, the more people that live here, the more find themselves in trouble to some percentage.” 

The percentage of orders served also increased on the juvenile side as well, adding to his increased demand. However, his ability to focus on specific aspects of enforcement is expanded with counties and cities under jurisdiction annexing, meaning the sherrif primarily works outside of city limits. 

“That gives us some [opportunities] to have some specialized law enforcement services,” Dixon said. “Currently, we do not have a dedicated traffic unit. We [also] do not have a dedicated warrant unit to deal with the 3,600 active awards we have. We do not have anyone that focuses on waterways or parks. There is 20 miles of White River in this county, and then two reservoirs, and we do not have a watercraft or anything to police those. I think that gives us some opportunity to do some kind of niche.” 

The new sheriff connects with the community in many varied aspects. He is involved with non-profit organizations such as the Youth Assistance Program and Shop for Kids. 

“We are very fortunate because a lot of community partners already work with the jail because we have a lot of programs for the inmates, whether that be through non-profit groups or religious groups where they can come in and work on sobriety or parenting skills [and] financial skills, or education and things of that nature.” 

While he connects with organizations, the police also catch people who commit crimes by using advances in technology. The police are looking towards new ways to monitor and catch crime, such as drone or controversial private license plate readers that surveil the population. Currently, however, police are seeing a newer trend in crime. 

“I think the technology piece is probably going to be the most challenging and the most rewarding in the future because most of the crimes [that] we’re seeing committed are being done online.” 

The sheriff’s tackles a wide range of activities and enforcement of trends, so Dixon encourages students to get more involved in politics. He joined the military out of high school and reflected upon that experience. 

“One week I was in high school, the next week I was in the military, and people [in] political positions were determining where I was going to go. They could send me halfway across the world if they wanted based on who got elected, but there is a lot of decisions, especially in local politics.” 

He further emphasized local engagement in political offices and community, highlighting the importance of local political power. 

“I would encourage people to be involved. Most of the decisions that affect anyone in this community are made locally. You are not going to see President Trump at the gas station or grocery store, but you are going to see me.”