Mike Bitnar was first hired on with the Chippewa Co. Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) in June 1991 and since then he has worked in corrections, uniform division, undercover detective for the multi-jurisdictional Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement (SANE), marine and snowmobile division, Detective Sergeant, Undersheriff, then appointed Sheriff in Oct. 2016 and was elected Sheriff in Nov. 2016.
This past November, the 55-year-old Bitnar was reelected to his third term as Sheriff for Chippewa County with many goals in mind to improve how the CCSO serves the people in the county.
In late December, Bitnar was sworn in for another four-year term as Chippewa Co. Sheriff. He gave the Oath of Office to his staff, Undersheriff, and some Correction Officers.
SooLeader asked Sheriff Bitnar what his goals are in this next 4-year term.
After I was first elected in 2016, I put together a TO-DO list. With a lot of hard work and help from others, I can say we completed that list. I took some time and started on another list and this is what I came up with:
- I would like to get trained instructors so the Sheriff’s Office could host recreational classes for students within Chippewa County. The hope would be to host ORV, snowmobile and boater safety classes.
- I would like to find a way to add an afternoon shift to our law enforcement side. Chippewa County is no longer a quiet corner of the U.P. Our busiest times are afternoon to early evenings. With the increase in tourism, traffic, skilled workers from out of the area and the increase of the criminal element, at our current levels, we are not able to keep up with the workload.
- We will continue to use Federal or State grants that are available to increase or replace older emergency response equipment. We have been very fortunate to use grants to purchase search and rescue and emergency response equipment in the past. Many of those items are at or past their life expectancy and should be replaced. Upgrading our equipment to serve the people of Chippewa County is a goal of mine.
- We now have a facility where we are able to conduct training, the same facility also holds our emergency response and search and rescue equipment. One of my goals will be to enhance our search and rescue, including additional training on the equipment and training for new search and rescue members.
- I would like to expand and grow our Victims Services Unit (VSU). We need to recruit and train a new group of advocates that help.
- with the farthest reaches of Chippewa County. Tragedies occur everywhere in Chippewa County and to have advocates trained and ready to help in an expanded area would be one of my goals. If you see a meeting scheduled where we will be providing information on our VSU and you are interested please attend.
Our goal is always to serve the citizens of Chippewa County.
Click here for the CCSO website.
