Chief Deputy Steve Strachan has 25 years of law enforcement experience. Prior to being appointed by Sheriff Rahr as Chief Deputy in 2011, Steve served from 2006- 2011 as Chief of Police in Kent, Washington, with a population of 115,000. Steve previously served as Chief of Police in Lakeville, Minnesota, where he had been an Administrative Sergeant, Detective, School Resource Officer, SWAT team leader, DARE Officer, and Patrol Officer. Prior to becoming a patrol officer, Steve worked as a Jail Deputy for the Carver County, MN Sheriff’s Office.

In 1996, Steve was elected to the first of two terms as a city council member in Farmington, Minnesota. In 2002, Steve was elected to the Minnesota State House of Representatives, where he served on the Judiciary, Local Government and State Government Finance Committees. In his time in the House, Steve was the chief author of several high profile and controversial bills, including the reduction of the alcohol limit to .08.

Steve served on the Public Safety Facilities Commission for Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, and was later appointed by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to the State Sex Offender Policy Commission, the DWI Task Force, and the Governor’s Stadium Commission.

Steve holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Minnesota State University, Mankato. He is a graduate of the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar (LEEDS) #51, and was a member of Session #44 of the Senior Management Institute for Police through the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).

From 2007- 2010, Steve served as an appointee of Washington Governor Christine Gregoire to the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority. Steve is a past Co-Chair of the Washington Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs Corrections Committee. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Chair of the King County Chiefs of Police Association, and is President of the Kent Rotary Club.

If you would like to invite Chief Deputy Strachan to speak at a community event, please click here to e-mail his scheduling assistant who will help you with the request.