Harney County

Sheriff Dan Jenkins was appointed and sworn in on January 2, 2020 as the interim sheriff for Harney County Sheriff’s Office where he had been a patrol deputy since 2015. This appointment is to complete the remainder of Sheriff Dave Ward’s term.

Sheriff Jenkins first came to Harney County in 1991 as a teen and graduated from Crane Union High School in 1993. A few months after graduation, he joined the United States Marine Corps and served for four years as a light armored vehicle crewman. After the military, Jenkins worked as a cowboy on a few ranches in Harney County, in Wyoming, and also in Nevada.

Sheriff Jenkins’ experience in law enforcement started when he attended the Idaho Police Academy as a self-sponsored student in 2003 and was subsequently hired by Caldwell City Police Department. He worked there for about a year and a half as a patrol officer before being hired by Harney County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy in July 2004.

In October 2008, Sheriff Jenkins resigned from his position as a patrol deputy to return to ranch work in Harney County. He worked on the ranch for the next five and a half years. His children were young at the time, and he felt they would acquire a good foundation for life by growing up on a ranch. Then in September 2014, Sheriff Jenkins returned to work at the Harney County Sheriff’s Office as a corrections deputy until he was reassigned to patrol in 2015.

Sheriff Jenkins resides in Harney County.