Meet Danny Ormand, recently retired from ACIC

It’s a lot of work being retired. My wife and I are building a house, taking care of our property, and my son and I are doing a lot of things that we wouldn’t be able to normally. I’m really enjoying doing all those things.

— Danny Ormand

Former ACIC director, sheriff reflects as he steps into retirement

By Scott Perkins County Lines Editor

Acountry boy whose parents taught him to always help others, started his journey in a small town called Stamps, Ark. After a career in public service where he excelled at helping people, his journey has brought him right back home.

Danny Ormand, who retired as director of the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) earlier this year, started his career in the Lafayette County Road Department, but before he would retire, he would serve his county, community and his state in several positions.

“I was interested in anything with a siren on it,” Ormand recalled about the beginning of his career with a down-home smile. “I’ve always been around public service. You’ll never get rich, but you can get fulfilled.”

His mother served as Lafayette County Treasurer for many years and his dad was a postman in Stamps.

“My parents really stressed that ‘you need to do your best to help someone. You need to be helping someone do something,’” he recalled.

Ormand took the reins of the ACIC in January 2009 and his impact on the association and the statewide law enforcement community endures today.

During his tenure, ACIC created and launched the CENSOR project which automated an entire electronic system of sex offender registration and verification.

CENSOR is installed at every law enforcement agency in Arkansas and it greatly reduced the paper trail and cumbersome workload for maintaining sex offender data. Ormand also spearheaded changes to the database concerning information available to local law enforcement agencies about sex offenders. Those changes and the CENSOR system simplified the process of registering sex offenders and verifying their addresses.

“All the credit goes to the staff of the ACIC,” Ormand said. “We wanted it more automated because the workload was just too much. We were able to build this system from scratch with a federal grant of less than $300,000. It’s a valuable tool.”

ACIC embarked on the sex-offender program in 2009 and saw it come to fruition two years later.

Ormand says he is proud of many of his ACIC accomplishments but the sex offender program stands tall in his mind.

“Law enforcement always had difficulty keeping up with sex offenders,” Ormand said. “It was all paper being shuffled between local law enforcement, Department of Corrections and ACIC.”

Information Network of Arkansas (INA) assisted the ACIC on getting the sex offender site up and running.

“INA was a huge asset in getting it online for a cost we could afford,” Ormand said.

One of ACIC’s overall goals under Ormand’s leadership was to “help the locals.”

“Law enforcement agencies always have funding issues and lack of staff, and our goal was to help them as much as possible,” Ormand said.

Some of Ormand’s other ACIC accomplishments include publicly promoting the Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) system, and he developed and implemented the ACIC mobile classroom that allows for training to be provided throughout the state.

He also completed several building and organizational improvements and a new inventory system to more effectively track ACIC equipment that is located across the state.

The path to sheriff

He began his experience in the Lafayette County Sheriff’s office as a dispatcher and jailer, and in 1985, he became a deputy sheriff. He soon graduated from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy and his duties included patrol, civil service and jail administrator.

In 1988, he joined the Arkansas Office of Emergency Management, now the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, as the Area 4 coordinator.

“In emergency management, you see a lot of opportunities to help people, “Ormand said of his 14 years in that position. “Some of these

n Danny Ormand n Born in Lafayette County n 1985: Hired as deputy sheriff in Lafayette County n 1988-2002: Became the Area 4 coordinator for the

Arkansas Office of Emergency Services.

n 2002-2007: Lafayette Co. Sheriff. n 2007: Accepted the position of deputy director of

Arkansas Department of Emergency Services

n 2008: Arkansas Crime Information Board hired him

to be director of the agency

n 2012: retired from ACIC.

AAC Chief Legal Counsel Mark Whitmore

explains the details of proposed legislation concerning tax collections across Arkansas. Rita Chandler, Pope County Tax Collector and president of the Arkansas County Tax Collectors Association, takes notes on the issue for the ensuing business meeting. Sarah Bradshaw, an attorney with the Public Service Commission’s tax division, discusses the utility appeal process and delinquent utility issues.

Amber Styles-Emberson with the Department of Information Systems presents information on cyber security and digital information trends and pitfalls. She told the tax collectors that her organization helps block more than 800,000 spam e-mails every month on the state network.

Collectors conduct business in Boone Co.

The Arkansas County Tax Collectors Association hosted a six-hour continuing education summer meeting June 14-15 in Harrison. Tax collectors and staffers enjoyed presentations ranging from delinquent tax issues concerning utility companies to overall cyber security.

“We’re all friends and we’re ready to learn and to share and ready to have a good time,” Rita Chandler, Arkansas County Tax Collector president said, as she opened and set the tone for the meeting.

Sarah Bradshaw, an attorney with the Public Service Commission’s tax division, explained how what her office does is very different from local tax assessment. She said the commission does “unit evaluation.”

“We assess the whole instead of the individual pieces,” Bradshaw said. “We also assess tangible and intangible, goodwill, franchise rights and customer listings. It’s more than just fiscal assets.” Amber Styles-Emberson with the Department of Information Systems described cyber security’s recent trends. “Prepare for the worst, expect the worst and hope we never have to use this insurance policy [system backup],” StylesEmberson said. “Make sure that you are actually backing up your files.” She also stressed the importance of being careful and cautious online.

Left: Pictured is the Boone County Courthouse on Flag Day, which was June 14. County officials decorated the courthouse lawn with hundreds of American Flags in honor of our nation’s symbol.

Tommy Creamer,

Boone County Treasurer, welcomes tax collectors to Boone County and encouraged all of them to go see the flag display at the courthouse.

Ronnie Baldwin, Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association (ASA) director, presents Chuck Lange, his predecessor, with numerous awards and articles of thanks for his 24 years of service to the ASA.

Sheriffs converge on Harrison

Sheriffs mingle with various vendors during a break in the meeting schedule.

The Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association met in Harrison on June 2729 for its summer convention and gave the reins of the organization to a different president. Larry Sanders, Garland County Sheriff, was named the new president, succeeding Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder.

The sheriffs conducted association business, executive sessions and heard from various speakers and state agencies.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel was the keynote speaker for the opening luncheon, while former University of Arkansas head football coach Ken Hatfield also spoke at the next day’s breakfast.

Sheriffs were also welcomed by Danny Hickman, Boone County Sheriff. He thanked them for their service to the ASA and for visiting Boone County.

Larry Sanders, Garland County Sheriff and ASA president, addresses the sheriffs, guests and vendors during the luncheon at the L.E. “Gene” Durand Conference Center in Harrison. Fran Flener, state drug director, talks about the drug takeback programs. Former Razorback head coach Ken Hatfield talks with the crowd. John Thurston, Commissioner of State Lands, briefly updates sheriffs about his office.

Above: Pictured are (from left) Larry Sanders, ASA president; Ronnie Baldwin, ASA director; and Tim Helder, immediate past president.

Right: During the concluding luncheon, the head table applauds the efforts of the Arkansas Sheriff’s Wives Association and its recent presentation of its 2012 scholarship recipients. Jay Winters, Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) director, introduces regional members of his staff during ASA business meeting.

Ormand steps into retirement

people have lost everything when you meet them in that role. You might not have everything they need, but emergency management is the middleman, so to speak, and makes necessary connections for these disaster victims. You could often connect them with who they need and honestly tell them, ‘we can help you recover.’ I think that keeps people going and it is very fulfilling to help them.”

Public service at an even more prominent level would soon beckon Ormand to seek and win the Lafayette County Sheriff’s seat.

“You see the best and worst of people,” Ormand commented about being sheriff. “You see all these personal issues in families and it teaches you a lot about life. You might be the sheriff, but you are still a man in the community.”

Ormand recalled the most difficult event while he was sheriff with clarity, like it had just occurred.

“Losing Stacey McMurrough, one of my deputies…” Ormand uttered. “Life is extremely too short and events like Stacey’s accident can change how you think in life. There are long-term effects you have to deal with like helping and assisting the family and community. Our community completely shut down after his accident.”

McMurrough, 32, died in an automobile accident on State Highway 29 on Feb. 10, 2006, while responding to help back up another deputy who was on a domestic disturbance call.

“Experiencing that makes you understand what’s really important,” Ormand said. “My fellow sheriffs really helped me through things like that.”

Ormand served two, two-year terms as sheriff, but then decided to not seek re-election.

While he was sheriff, Ormand retired from the Stamps Volunteer Fire Department after 20 years of service. He served as the department’s chief for two of those years.

“When you are sheriff or a county elected official,” Ormand said. “the buck stops at your desk. I think it is amazing just how much responsibility can be put on a county official. Most folks don’t realize what all county officials have to deal with.”

He explained how his experiences on the county level with various kinds of people prepared him for the ACIC director’s role.

“If I have made a difference in one person’s life then it was worth it,” Ormand said. “But you do hope you have made a difference in many people’s lives.”

Ormand was selected as the first and only honorary member of the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association Honor Guard. He has also volunteered his time to work for Concerns Of Police Survivors (COPS), which is an organization that assists the surviving families of police officers who were killed in the line of duty.

“People have been good to me my whole life. People have taken an interest in me and helped me along the way” Ormand said. “We’re fortunate. I always had the support of the governor and he was very good to me and to our organization. He was always supportive.”

Ormand has been married to his wife, Danita, for almost 18 years and they have a 15-year-old son. When he retired Jan. 31, the Ormands moved back to his hometown of Stamps.

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