El Paso County Undersheriff Joe Roybal was the featured speaker at the Sept. 1 Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce meeting, where he announced a new site for an El Paso County Sheriffís Department substation.ìWe are bringing a full-service substation to Falcon,î Roybal said.He said lawyers representing the sheriff’s office and the Falcon Fire Protection District are discussing the details of transferring land on Stapleton Road, adjacent to Falcon Fire Station 1, from FFPD to the sheriff’s office.Along with the announcement, Roybal discussed his candidacy for sheriff.ìMy first job is to earn your trust,î he said. Roybal has 26 years of experience, which includes different roles within the sheriffís office. ìCompare my experience to my opponents,î he said. ìI know what I am doing; I have a very specific plan, and I know how to do it.îHe pledged to practice what he called ìintelligence driven policingî by deploying more deputies in high-crime areasìI have a lot of experience in jails,î Roybal said, adding that the jail is two-thirds of the sheriffís responsibility. He said he would like to use his experience to reduce the rate of repeat offenders from around 75% to a percentage in the mid 50s. ìI am the only candidate with experience in budget,î he said. Roybal pledged that if elected as sheriff, he would increase staffing for essential services, without increasing taxes.He said the sheriff’s office is currently top heavy, and he plans to reallocate resources from the top tiers and eliminate duplicate positions. Roybal said he does not plan to fire anyone; but, as officers at the top levels leave the sheriff’s office for whatever reason, they would not be replaced. He said he would eliminate positions, not employees.Roybal also committed to combat legislation that targeted constitutionally protected rights and law enforcement.Outside of campaigns and work, he said family is most important. His fatherís example gave Roybal his philosophy of putting others first and protecting those who can’t help themselves, he said.
