Steve Strachan (born January 26, 1965) is an American law enforcement officer and politician. He has served as the Chief of the

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

Police Department, Chief of the

Lakeville, Minnesota Lakeville is an exurb of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and the largest city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. It is approximately south of both downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul along Interstate Highway 35. Starting as a flourishi ...

Police Department, the Chief of the

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and t ...

Police Department, and the

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

. He also served as a Member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house of the Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. There are 134 members, twice as many as the Minnesota Senate. Floor sessions are held in the north wing of the State Capitol in Saint Pa ...

, representing District 36B.

Career

Strachan was born in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. N ...

in 1965. He attended Northfield High School, graduating in 1983. Two years later, he began his job in law enforcement as a part-time jail deputy in

Carver County, Minnesota Carver County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The county is mostly farmland and wilderness with many unincorporated townships. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,922. Its county seat is Chaska. Carver County is named for ...

. He served in that position for two years, from 1985-1987, before joining the

Police Department as a full-time police officer. While serving in the department, Strachan attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, receiving a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

in 1991, as well as

Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

, receiving a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

degree in 1995. He rose up through the ranks, becoming a Sergeant, a Detective, and ultimately the Chief of Police.King County Sheriff's race: the new man vs. the longtime insider , Local News , The Seattle Times
/ref> During his time with the Lakeville Police Department, Strachan also served in a number of political positions. From 1996-2002, he was City Councilman in

Farmington, Minnesota Farmington is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,632 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. History Settlers began arriving in Empire Township, in which Farmingto ...

. From 2003-2004, he served one term in the

, representing District 36B in the

83rd Minnesota Legislature The eighty-third Minnesota Legislature first convened on January 7, 2003. The 67 members of the Minnesota Senate and the 134 members of the Minnesota House of Representatives were elected during the General Election on November 5, 2002. Session ...

. He served on the Governmental Operations and Veterans Affairs Policy Committee, the Judiciary Policy and Finance Committee, and the State Government Finance Committee. In 2006, then-Chief of Police Strachan left the Lakeville Police Department in order to become the Chief of the Kent Police Department in

. He served in this position for five years (until 2011), at which point he became Chief Deputy Sheriff of

under Sheriff Sue Rahr. When Rahr resigned in April 2012, Strachan was appointed sheriff.King County sheriff accused of ethics violations » Kitsap Sun
/ref> He served in this position until November 2012, when he lost his election campaign to John Urquhart. Strachan stepped down as Bremerton police chief at the end of 2017 to become the executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strachan, Steve Washington (state) sheriffs Living people Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni American police chiefs 1965 births 21st-century American politicians People from Northfield, Minnesota People from Bremerton, Washington People from Lakeville, Minnesota People from Farmington, Minnesota