New County Sheriff Oliver talks goals for 2026

1-14-26

By Lauren Royce, Editor

MONTROSE — As new sheriff of Susquehanna County, John Oliver said he has one goal at the forefront of his mission: to make the area a safer place for its people. Continuing the services upheld by former sheriff Lance Benedict, Oliver said he’s starting with getting law enforcement numbers up.

“Right now we’re currently fully staffed for our department,” Oliver said, “but the burden that we ran into with the closing of the jail is obviously transports and everything with prisoners, and they’re outside the county. So our complement should be increased a little bit to maintain coverage for the county while transports are being conducted— Right now, if someone is arrested and remanded to a jail, we currently have contracts with Wayne county, Wyoming County and Lackawanna county. It depends on the availability.” 

Departments in different Townships often have to lean on one another to fill spots, presenting an issue similar to volunteer fire departments being stretched thin.

Oliver said while someone could apply to be on the county sheriff’s office force, Pennsylvania is unique because many departments require applicants to train on their own and pay their own way. Some departments have paid training. 

“Our commissioners have been working really well with law enforcement,” Oliver said. “They see the position that law enforcement is in in the county, so they have tried to help out our department in terms of training and recruitment.” Most recently, the commissioners approved payment for a mid winter training conference in February 2025, according to minutes from a January 8, 2025 meeting available on susqco.com. 

Pennsylvania requires Act 120 training, provided at Lackawanna College. Oliver said there are other schools like Keystone that provide criminal justice programs but Lackawanna is one of few that provide that specific training.

Oliver said outreach is key, and helping the public understand their law enforcement also plays a role in recruitment.

“To me it’s the deputies, the troopers, the police officers, it’s positive interaction with the public,” Oliver said, “and when the public sees that, or the kids see that, or the community outreach on National Night Out when they have those types of events.” Deputies also attend job fairs at local high schools “to hopefully answer everything, and hopefully some of the kids are interested and want to get into law enforcement,” he said. 

Oliver praised the programs that Elk Lake High School has in place for criminal justice classes that students can take if they’re interested in law enforcement. “Their instructors are great— and a lot of kids don’t know it exists,” he said. 

Justin Sprout is now chief detective. He also brings experience: previously a Montrose police officer and a sheriff’s deputy, and became a detective when Oliver was a criminal investigator with state police before Oliver retired from that job in 2016. Typically, a detective also has task force members working with them.

Oliver and Benedict are longtime friends, going back 30 years to 1996 when Oliver started as a state trooper in the Gibson barracks. Benedict has been a fire chief in Hop Bottom before, he said.

“I would see him at crash scenes and stuff like that, and over the years we became friends,” Oliver said. “And then we worked together when he became sheriff, we were always a resource for each other. As he was for every trooper over there.” 

Oliver said Benedict has since begun new work as a school resource officer with Blue Ridge schools.