Sgt. Bill Howe of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department became the top administrator for law enforcement in Wellington (Colorado) this month. He replaces Sgt. Cindy Gordon, who has taken a different assignment.

While most communities in the county have their own police departments, Wellington contracts for services with the sheriff’s office. The town board on Jan. 12 renewed its one-year contract with Larimer County to provide law enforcement services for $609,000.

In January, Howe began handling administrative duties and supervising four deputies who patrol Wellington. Howe attained the rank of sergeant three years ago and has been with Larimer County for 17 years. His background includes regular patrol, investigations and narcotics investigations.

At this time, Howe is focused on getting to know the town business people and the deputies with whom he’ll be working. He’s also spending a good deal of time giving business owners tips on crime prevention.

“Make sure the doors are locked,” Howe said. “Turning some lights on is a big help. We can see shadows and signs of people moving inside.”

Although Wellington is a quiet town, and his biggest problem at this time is domestic disturbances, Howe said he wants to be ready for more serious crimes.

“Wellington’s right on the interstate, and we have three convenience stores right there,” he said. “It would be pretty easy for someone to come down the interstate, pull into town, hit the stores and drive off. That kind of thing happens in places like Denver all the time.”

Howe added that law enforcement is often more crime prevention than enforcement. “You never know how much crime doesn’t occur because you’re there,” he said.

Howe is also interested in common crimes such as stolen cars. “One of the biggest problems we have (in Colorado), especially this time of year, is people going out, warming up their cars and then leaving the keys in the ignition while it’s running,” he said. “Happens all the time.”

A thief usually uses a stolen vehicle to get from one place to another, so it might be readily found; however, the victim’s personal possessions may be missing, Howe noted while plucking a brochure from his desk that shows Colorado ranks 18th in the country for auto theft.

In addition to managing the deputies assigned to Wellington, Howe supervises the school resource officer who works in Wellington and LaPorte.