Make no mistake; Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirkse is not angling to become the next internet sensation. His department’s new podcast series – revamped, actually – is designed with the public in mind. It’s titled “The County Line.”

“One of the problems that we’ve encountered as a profession is that so many significant issues are not discussed in depth,” said Dirkse, who first won election as sheriff in 2018. “Many questions or conversations are short, with one-to-five-minute answers or sound bites. You can’t address those types of issues with a sound bite. The podcasts are designed to go in depth on any number of topics that are complex and nuanced, such as immigration, technology, use of force, etc. They take real discussion to articulate the complexities.”

“The County Line” can be viewed on the StanSheriff YouTube channel, and is hosted by Sgt. Nate Crain, who is ably assisted by his co-host, Colt the K-9 officer.

“Colt is my retired working K-9 partner,” said Crain. “He got to retire; I did not.”

Unlike the department’s previous podcast series, which were audio only, the new series is a video production with Crain and his guest – Dirkse being the most recent. The sheriff talked about technological advancements within the department, such as departmental transparency, body-worn cameras, Flock safety cameras, drones, and artificial intelligence. Fourth Amendment rights also were touched upon.

Crain said the plan is to release one to two videos per month, depending on the topics and the time of year.

“Right now, we’re on pace to release one every couple of weeks,” said Crain. “We’re trying to release episodes more frequently so that people become aware of the series. Plus, we have so many things to talk about.”

Crain said he likes the new assignment. But, like most, he doesn’t always like the way he comes across on camera.

“It’s been one of my more challenging assignments, and I’m my biggest critic,” said Crain. “And I’m not Joe Rogan. I don’t have 10 million subscribers. I just try to listen to the guests and pay attention.”

He may not have the subscriber base of the world’s most famous podcaster, but he does, however, have two superfans.

“My kids are always asking when the next episode is coming out because they want to listen,” said Crain. “They have no idea what the heck I’m talking about, but they think it’s cool that their dad has a podcast.”

Dirkse maintains there’s not a specific target audience for the series, other than community as a whole.

“Not everyone listens to podcasts – I’m one of them – but many do, so we are using this mechanism to try to educate them,” the sheriff said. “As we move forward, we will continue with a variety of topics and guest speakers. To be honest, other than my episodes, I don’t really drive the content. I leave it up to the team.”

Crain said a recent subject was the slaying of Deputy Harold Thornton, who was killed in the line of duty during in the 1960s. Thornton’s son, Ed, was interviewed for the show.

Coming soon will be an interview with Mercedes Wallace, the widow of Deputy Dennis Wallace, who was killed in the line of duty in July 2019.

“It will incredibly impactful, in my opinion,” said Crain.