Undersheriff Hampton is third Responder of the Year nominee

Grant County Undersheriff Craig Hampton is the third and final nominee for the January Responder of the Month and has been in law enforcement since 2008. The Grant County native began his law enforcement career at the Grant County Jail, then moved over to Animal Control and eventually a patrol officer, moving through the ranks from canine handler to corporal for the Ulysses Police Department, then Sergeant for the sheriff’s department and is now undersheriff. Hampton was appointed undersheriff four years ago by current Grant County Sheriff James Biddle.

In the absence of the Sheriff, the Undersheriff assumes full responsibility for this Office. Undersheriff Hampton assists in supervision for all divisions of the Sheriff’s Office.

“Basically, I’m second in command and by our state constitution, if something happens to the sheriff, then I would be acting sheriff,” Hampton said. “That way, the community always has an acting sheriff.”

At the moment, Hampton is field training a new officer and is also a taser instructor and a radar instructor. Hampton works with the Southwest Kansas Critical Response Team, which is a regional SWAT team made up of officers from across the southwest corner of Kansas.

Among the most recent highlights of his career has been the joint cooperation between agencies, especially Haskell, Stanton and Seward counties, to stop some of the bigger players in the local crime world.

“Some of the interagency cooperation has been really fun, we’ve really been helping each other out,” Hampton said.

He said the favorite part of his career was as a canine handler.

"I enjoyed being with my dog," he said. "When I was at work, my dog was with me, when I was at home, my dog was with me. The kids loved having the dog at home."

Of the many hats he wears, dad is the most important. Hampton has three children and is a strong advoate for the youth in the community.

"I like to see law enforcement be  a good aspect for their community," Hampton said. "That's always been my drive for my career field."

He's a Cubmaster for his son's Cub Scout Troop and he's on the Junior Leadership Board.

"I like working with our youth," he said. "I like to be helping with the kids. I like to be helping bring up the next generation.

"I like to be that bridge between law enforcement and some of the negative viewpoints that some kids get from the world."