| Meet
Jim Voutour
Biography  A devoted husband, father and law enforcement officer, Jim Voutour is seeking election as Niagara County sheriff. He is not a politician looking to climb the next rung on the political ladder, but a law enforcement professional seeking the next frontier in his career of public service. A lifelong resident of Niagara County, Jim grew up in Wilson with a dream that many youngsters share: not to be a cop, but to be a baseball player. Based on Jim's successful collegiate baseball career, the Detroit Tigers offered him a minor league contract to play professional baseball for the Niagara Falls Rapids in the New York Penn League. After one season with the Rapids, he fell in love with law enforcement during a ride-along with a Niagara County sheriff's deputy. At that time, it took political connections to land a job in the Sheriff's Department, and Jim didn't have any. So in 1992, he applied to the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department pre-service academy. Thanks to a $5,000 from his grandmother, Elizabeth Game, he completed the academy and graduated near the top of his class. He paid back every penny of the loan before his grandmother's passing. In 1993, Jim accepted a part-time marine deputy job with the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office. A few months later, he became a full-time police officer with the Jamestown Police Department. Later that year, the Niagara County Sheriff's Department offered Jim a chance to come home as a road patrol deputy. He began with the Niagara County Sheriff's Department on September 6, 1993, and he has steadily worked his way through the ranks. Jim spent 12 years working road patrol throughout Niagara County. During this time, he spent 10 years with the Emergency Response Team, taught at the Law Enforcement Academy, and was instrumental in launching a full accident reconstruction team for the Sheriff's Department. Jim was promoted to a road patrol sergeant in 2005 and was promoted again in 2005 to road patrol captain. As a captain, Jim chose to command the midnight shift, which allowed him to raise his daughters until they went to school. Jim has attended many different courses and schools throughout his career. In 2006, Jim was accepted to the prestigious New York State Law Enforcement Executive Institute in Albany, NY. This nine-month graduate level course was designed to teach and develop future law enforcement executives. In January 2008, Jim was appointed to his current position of chief deputy of the Patrol Division. In this position, Jim directly oversees about 65 officers. Jim's inspiration comes from his wife, the former Pilar DiCarlo, and their two school-age daughters. Pilar is a kindergarten teacher at Barker Central School, and together the Voutours live in the Town of Lockport. Through their support of local charities and civic involvement, Jim and Pilar share the vision of making Niagara County the safest place in New York to raise a family. Jim's parents, the late Fred and Carol (Game) Voutour, were born and raised in Niagara Falls and moved to Wilson in 1960. Pilar's parents, Joe ("Slugger") and Joan DiCarlo were born and raised in Lockport and still reside there. Jim graduated from Wilson High School in 1984 and accepted a baseball scholarship to Coastal Carolina College in South Carolina. He transferred to SUNY Brockport in 1985 and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in 1988 in management and finance. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice from John Jay College. He has completed coursework in leadership, weapons of mass destruction, narcotics, street survival, accident investigation, and incident command. As sheriff, Jim will focus on five key areas: public safety and crime prevention; homeland security and emergency response; child safety; jail efficiency; and recruitment and training. He will work hard every day to be sure the Niagara County Sheriff's Department is run through professionalism, not politics. ~ Paid for by Friends of Jim Voutour ~ |
