ASHLAND — The sheriff’s office is under new leadership. Here’s what Kurt Schneider has been up to since being elected in November and sworn in on Jan. 6.
“I’ve been busy,” he said.
The sheriff agreed to an interview with Ashland Source to discuss topics ranging from 911 to illegal immigration to enforcement of the state’s Amish buggy law.
Staffing
Schneider hasn’t fired anyone, but there are some new faces at the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office.
Records show there have been nine hires since voters elected Schneider in November. Most of them, five, have been positions for the jail.
He’s hoping to increase the jail’s medical staff, he said. Currently there are three nurses who work for the jail.
Schneider said he’s made internal changes in the office’s enforcement side, boosting the number of deputies from two to three on every shift.
The sheriff is looking into implementing alternative shifts to lead to “more productive” officers.
“If they have a schedule that fits better for their work, and that just happens to coincide with their family life — great. I want you to be as productive as you possibly can,” he said, adding the change might help improve some officers’ mental health.
911
One of Schneider’s campaign promises included improving 911 service and re-establishing the sheriff office’s dispatch center as the hub for emergency communication within the city and county.
The city of Ashland, since 2016, contracts with the Wooster Ashland Regional Council of Government (WARCOG) for its emergency dispatching services. But the sheriff’s office still operates a county dispatch center.
When someone in the city places a call, it first arrives at the sheriff’s communication center, located inside the sheriff’s office. And when the dispatcher takes the call, they ask a series of questions to determine the location, which in turn determines which agency will handle the emergency.
If there’s a police or fire emergency in the city, the call is transferred to WARCOG dispatchers, where they ask the same series of questions.
Schneider had an issue with the redundancy, saying every second counts in an emergency.
Before taking office, Schneider, in collaboration with city officials, found an app that eliminates the need for the redundant questions.
“So the issue before was we would capture data, but we couldn’t get it to them, therefore (WARCOG) had to re-ask all those questions,” he said. He said the software has trimmed 10 to 12 seconds off calls, and in one instance cut 18 seconds off the call.
He hopes further collaboration like that can continue as agencies work toward establishing the state-mandated Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) system.
NG9-1-1 technology improves communication capabilities by reducing call transfers and offers text messaging. It also improves identification of the location of callers who use cell phones, according to a press release issued by Gov. Mike DeWine’s office.
So far, two counties in Ohio — Washington and Monroe — have made the switch to the improved system and has reported fewer call transfers.
State legislation mandates the switch. Counties have until 2030 and Ohio’s 2024-2025 operating budget funded $46 million in infrastructure costs for NG9-1-1.
Schneider said the sheriff’s office already has the fiber lines needed to make the switch. The minimal cost, he said, will be in the software needed to support the system. He said most of that cost, however, will be “handled by the state.”
“It shouldn’t cost us much,” he said of making the switch to NG9-1-1.
Human trafficking
Schneider, during his campaign, also said he would fight human trafficking.
He said work continues through the sheriff’s involvement in the HEAL Human Trafficking Task Force, a partnership between Huron, Erie, Ashland and Lorain county sheriff agencies.
Two detectives within the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office are actively involved in the task force, Schneider said. But additional officers can also help when needed.
Schneider said is also working on implementing new processes at the jail to “potentially identify other folks who have been victimized” by human trafficking.
The sheriff said there is one case locally that could result in charges related to human trafficking. He declined to give specifics.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety recently launched an online dashboard that visualizes data surrounding human trafficking statewide. The information dates back to 2019.
In Ashland County, according to the dashboard, there have been less than 10 survivors identified since 2019. To date, there have been 1,639 survivors identified in Ohio since 2019.
See the dashboard here.
Illegal immigration
The president’s executive orders surrounding deportations has caught Schneider’s attention.
Reports citing federal Department of Homeland Security numbers show that 5,693 people were deported or removed to 121 countries in the two weeks between Inauguration Day through Feb. 3, 2025.
The sheriff said he hasn’t received any direct orders or instructions related to immigration enforcement in the county.
“But we’re gonna be prepared for whatever comes,” he said.
Most of the time, Schneider said the federal agencies reach out if they need help with executing warrants.
“And then we’ll go out and give them a hand doing whatever we need to help them with. Obviously, as long as it’s within the constitution, so we’re not going to be violating people’s rights and kicking in doors just to kick in doors and any of that nonsense.
“But if they have valid warrants and we need to help them go pick people up, then that’s what we’ll do,” Schneider said.
The White House has, so far, focused on deporting illegal immigrants with criminal convictions or immigrants charged of violent crimes. To Schneider’s knowledge, there are “no violent immigrants in Ashland County.”
Schneider traveled to Arizona in October to learn about border security and illegal immigration issues that, in his words, “is a strain on our community, state and nation.”
read more about immigration
Another possibility includes housing detainees, a service the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office has offered in the past. If that were to happen tomorrow, however, the sheriff said the jail would be too full.
“We’re busting at the seams,” he said. On Feb. 6, the jail housed 126 inmates and is often up around 140. “If we have to make some bed space, we’ll talk to the judges to make room.”
The sheriff’s office has been working for some time to receive funding from the state to add seven, possibly eight beds in a portion of the jail that is not being used.
Ohio’s capital budget bill, passed in June 2024, includes $50 million available through grants for “local jail infrastructure projects” and $8.9 million will “support community-based correctional facilities.
Amish buggy law
Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law in June 2022 that requires Amish buggies and other animal-drawn vehicles to display a yellow flashing light white driving on public streets. A violation of the law is considered a minor misdemeanor and can result in a fine of up to $100.
The issue came to a head locally when 26 Amish people refused to pay fines and fees associated with their failure to display a yellow flashing light on buggies.
Instead of throwing them in jail, Ashland Municipal Judge John Good imposed liens on their real estate.
Since then, law enforcement has slowed citation writing. But Schneider has instructed deputies on patrol to use discretion when they encounter a buggy without a flashing light.
“I don’t want them to turn a blind eye,” he said. “I just want them to use sound, solid discretion on when citations should be issued.”
Schneider said he doesn’t want to clog the courts with these cases, but he also wants to keep the streets safe. He’s asked deputies to build a case that could hopefully encourage legislators to improve the law.
“The penalty needs to be more strict (for repeat offenders),” he said. But the challenge with that is the difficulty in identifying repeat offenders. Amish do not carry a driver’s license and their buggies do not have license plates.
He hopes further interactions with those in the Amish community will better education on the current buggy light law.