When Daniel Abbott celebrates his 27th anniversary with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office next month, he could potentially be more than just the current Sheriff of that department. He could be the National Sheriff of the Year for 2019. He’ll find out next week.
Abbott, who joined the department in March of 1993, began law enforcement career in corrections and moved to road patrol duties as a Deputy, and promoted to road Sergeant nine years ago in 2011. He became Sheriff of Van Buren County three years ago in 2017, and is a nominee for the national honor at the National Sheriff’s Association Winter Conference in Tampa, Florida which begins this weekend.
The winner will be announced at that winter conference which concludes next Tuesday, February 11th.
Sheriff Abbott graduated from Ferris State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice in the Spring of 1992, and was the founder of the FTO Program in his county. He was the very first to ever receive Deputy of the Year from his department.
To be considered for the National Sheriff’s award all nominees had to demonstrate their accomplishments not only in their office but through involvement in the community.
Over the past three years,Abbott’s drive to add an additional K9 unit bringing the department’s total K9 unit to four teams was successful. Additionally, the team added two aerial drones to assist with search and rescue efforts.
The Sheriff has also been very active with assisting the department’s dive team with recoveries in Van Buren’s inland lakes and waterways. He has consistently turned up on the road assisting with traffic crashes, critical incidents, pursuits, and general traffic enforcement.
On the operational side, Abbott has made many positive administrative changes to include key personnel, and has brought in Forgotten Man Ministries into the jails. That program gives inmates the skills to succeed in the community after being released from incarceration. It has proven to be very successful.
The Van Buren County Narcotics Unit has doubled their drug felony cases, as Abbott has partnered with other departments to continue battling illegal drug problems facing his county.
Abbott says, “Animals are near and dear to me, and one of my goals was to achieve a ‘no kill’ status with our Animal Control Unit.” He adds, “Since taking office, Animal Control has accomplished that goal two of the last three years which was the first time that has ever been accomplished.”
Another huge success personally for Dan Abbot has been getting involved with the schools. He says, “Not only myself, but others at the office have been giving presentations about trends going on in schools, school safety, and so on.” He adds, “I have personally mentored several young kids who are struggling in life, and I’ve built relationships not only with the children but the schools as well.”
Abbott has been tabbed multiple times by local organizations around Van Buren County to serve as the keynote speaker for various functions, where he has been able to cover many different topics to educate the community even as he takes the time to listen to the needs of those same communities.
Abbott is also proud this his office raises money and garners donated items every year to help out needy families at the Christmas holidays. He says, “Those families are having a hard time and may not be able to provide for their children or themselves at Christmas,” and quickly notes, “No tax dollars are ever used for this project,” concluding, “Over the past few years, we have been able to bless more families than before.”
Those are just some of the highlights that brought Abbott’s nomination to the national level, but he’ll be the first to tell you, “I can honestly say, just being nominated is an unbelievable and humble feeling, and I am the luckiest Sheriff in the state being able to serve the citizens of Van Buren County.”
In the meantime, Abbott announced just last week that he has submitted his application to run for re-election as Sheriff of Van Buren County once again here in 2020.
Stay tuned.
