Sheriff’s Office

About Sheriff Jenkins

Sheriff Dan Jenkins was appointed then 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 was to complete the remainder of Sheriff Ward’s term. Since then, Sheriff Jenkins has been elected twice, beginning his second elected term in 2025.

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 Sheriff Jenkins worked as a cowboy on a few ranches in Harney County, Wyoming, and 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 then was 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 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.