Dakota County Deputy Joe Engesser: The lighter side of doing time

Jails aren't the funniest places in the world. But that does not mean that funny things don't happen there.

Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows and Deputy Joe Engesser know that firsthand. The two lawmen have found a novel way to mix crime and punishment with humor.

In fact, Dakota County could well be the only sheriff's department in the country that has a humor link on its website. The link is to a series of cartoons by Engesser, a nationally published cartoonist, focusing on some of the funnier moments in jail.

"We have a serious job," Bellows said. "But the one thing we should do is not take ourselves too seriously."

That's where Engesser, an 18-year veteran of the department, comes in. For a number of years now he has been drawing cartoons, called "Good Time Served," highlighting the lighter side of doing time.

"I see a lot of things," said Engesser, whose cartoons have been published or displayed in such places as the Saturday Evening Post, Better Homes and Gardens and the Charles Schultz museum in California. "'Good Time Served' is ... something not meant to be demeaning or taken too seriously, but to add some lighthearted comic relief to an otherwise dismal situation."

Assume the position

Engesser said the cartoons are composites of real-life situations that happen in Dakota County and probably every other jail in the country.

For example, every law enforcement officer and probably every criminal knows what it means to "assume the position," the directive given to suspects whenever they are to be frisked for weapons inside or outside of jail.

So when inmates at the Dakota County jail built a snowman one winter in the recreation yard, it proved an inspiration.

Engesser came up with a cartoon panel showing an obviously frowning snowman assuming the position, his snow arms up against the wall and his lower torso, such as it was, spread out ready to be frisked.

Off to the side, two deputies are talking and looking out the window. One jailer says to the other, "They built it during outdoor rec."

Another Engesser favorite is the time a deputy saw an inmate get upset because the vending machine he'd inserted money into was not yielding up the potato chips he'd paid for.

"I've been robbed," the obviously angry inmate says.

Behind him stands a smiling jailer, a thought balloon coming from his head: "Pay-back."

He said law enforcement colleagues enjoy his takes, but so do the inmates at the jail.

"They are in a serious situation," Engesser said. "But inmates can laugh at that, too. It's humor they can understand. It's not meant to belittle or berate anyone. The cartoons kind of help people to cope with [jail] a little better."

A lighter approach

Bellows said he and former Sheriff Don Gudmundson got the idea for the humor link after noticing Engesser's talent. The department was already doing a newsletter that highlighted its goings on. It seemed natural to include some of Engesser's cartoons.

The cartoons proved so popular that the permanent link to the website was established. Since then, Engesser's work has appeared around the country, ranging from law enforcement journals to newspapers and national magazines.

Other departments around the country have also noticed. Several of Engesser's cartoons can be found on their websites, free of charge to them. He said other departments in Minnesota have inquired about running his cartoons on their websites.

"All I ask is that I get credit," said Engesser, who has an arts degree from Iowa Lakes Community College in Iowa.

Engesser, who sells dozens of cartoons a year nationally, got into drawing at a young age. He got into law enforcement, he said, in 1992 to provide for his wife and their three kids.

"It's worked out really well for me," Engesser said. "It's been very satisfying. I haven't had any negative comments from inmates or co-workers. In fact, it kind of makes my job easier."

Heron Marquez • 952-707-9994