Dutchess County residents will soon get to decide on who they want to fill the sheriff's post.

Republican acting Sheriff Kirk Imperati is up against Democrat Jillian Hanlon. It's the first contested sheriff's race in decades.

Both candidates have varying opinions on ways to improve the department.

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"We have a deputy sheriff along with a mental health worker and a social worker responding as a backup unit to these calls to people that are in crisis," says Kirk. "Then the deputies de-escalate the scene and then we get them the services they need right on that scene."

Hanlon says police officers need to have a level of compassion.

"We need to have an expectation of compassion from police," says Hanlon. "Until we get a handle on police behavior and the perception the public has of the police, then we're going to continue to have these problems."

What makes the race unique is that the candidates have been friends for 26 years.