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, Kitsap County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city ...

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 about south of both downtown Minneapolis and downtown St. Paul along Interstate 35 in Minnesota, Interstate 35. Lakeville w ...

Police Department, the Chief of the

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 Unit ...

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, the , which is common ...

King County, Washington King County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of counties in Washington, most populo ...

. He also served as a Member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

, representing District 36B.

Career

Strachan was born in

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota and Rice County, Minnesota, Rice counties in the U.S. state, state of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 U ...

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. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,922. Its county seat is Chaska. Carver County is named for explorer Jonathan Carver, who in 1766–67, traveled from Boston to the Minn ...

. 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 Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, receiving a

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

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

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 145,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

, receiving a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

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 Farming ...

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

, representing District 36B in the 83rd Minnesota Legislature. 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 Susan L. Rahr is an American law enforcement officer who served as the Sheriff of King County, Washington from 2005 to 2012. Rahr was appointed Interim Police Chief of the Seattle Police Department by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell on May 30, 2024 a ...

. 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 Law enforcement officials from Minnesota Law enforcement officials from Washington (state) 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 People from Northfield, Minnesota People from Bremerton, Washington People from Lakeville, Minnesota People from Farmington, Minnesota 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature