Jim Skinner[/caption]1. Why are you running for Collin County Sheriff?
It has been my lifelong ambition to become a Texas sheriff and I feel compelled by a sense of duty to serve my fellow citizens. I have spent my entire professional career in the service of the law, striving to make a difference in the lives of those whom I serve. Today, we live in a time when too many public officials willingly choose to ignore the rule of law and are willfully ignorant of the freedoms that our constitution enshrines. I will stand to achieve order and respect for our constitutional rights and to do what is necessary to protect these rights for everyone. I believe that my experiences as a peace office, a prosecutor and an attorney have equipped me with the tools necessary to successfully lead the professional men and women of the Collin County Sheriff’s Office.
2. What do you think the biggest challenge will be for the Sheriff’s office next year?
Given the complexities associated with policing in one of the fastest growing counties in the United States, it is difficult to speak to this question in terms of a single challenge. The next sheriff’s primary challenge will be to lead the office into the future with an eye towards exceeding the level of service that our citizens deserve and have come to expect. Leadership that provides planning for growth in the jail, for increasing the professional development of our deputies, and that ensures quality education and training for all employees, is essential to the safety and wellbeing of our citizens. Another challenge we face is the explosive growth that we continue to experience in Collin County. This growth will cause a strain on law enforcement staffing as calls for service increase. Work being performed across the County on our transportation infrastructure will exacerbate this problem, as road construction causes unexpected problems that deputies will be required to handle on a more frequent basis. To effectively protect our citizens, we must demand that our public safety assets and infrastructure keep pace with the growth that the County is experiencing; now and into the future.
3. What is your background in law enforcement?
I began my law enforcement career in August 1978, as a patrolman for the Harker Height Police Department in Central Texas. In 1983, I was assigned to Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, where I became an EST Team Leader (SWAT) and Security Police Investigator. I was honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force in 1987, and joined the Portales Police Department, New Mexico, as a Narcotics Sergeant. In 1990, I was hired as the Chief investigator for New Mexico’s 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Clovis, NM. In 1997, after serving for 19 years as a law enforcement officer, I resigned my position with the state in order to attend law school at the University of Houston Law Center.
After receiving my Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center in 2001, I practiced law as a civil attorney in Dallas. In 2007, I became an Assistant District Attorney and Special Prosecutor for the Collin County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. In 2008, I prosecuted a then sitting District Attorney from the DFW Metroplex for public corruption crimes that resulted in a fifteen-year prison sentence. In 2011, I returned to the public sector to serve as Collin County’s Second Assistant District Attorney and Chief of the Special Prosecution Division.
I am certified as a Master Peace Officer in the State of Texas, and served from 2010-2016 as a commissioned deputy sheriff (Reserve Division) in the Criminal Investigations Section of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department. I am currently commissioned as a reserve deputy sheriff for the Collin County Sheriff’s Office.
I believe that my career experiences not only allow me a unique perspective with which to view our criminal justice system, but also uniquely qualify me to serve as Collin County’s next Sheriff.
