Lieutenant John Hanlin is a native Douglas County resident, born and raised in the Roseburg area. John graduated from Glide High School in 1980. Following graduation, he worked for the Douglas Forest Protective Association and attended Umpqua Community College. In 1983, John moved to Bend, Oregon, where he attended Central Oregon College. In 1986, he earned an A.S. Degree in Computer Information Systems and returned to Douglas County. John continued his employment with Douglas Forest Protective Association as a Forest Officer, before hired by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office in 1989.

During his tenure, John has served as a patrol deputy in the South County and Roseburg Patrol Offices, as a Street Crimes Unit investigator, and as a narcotics detectives. John was also an active member of the Sheriff's Office Tactical Response Team (TRT) for more than 12 years. In April of 2001, John was assigned to the position of Commander of the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team (DINT). In August of 2005, John was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to command the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Detectives Division.

John holds a Supervisory Certificate through the Oregon State Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST). He has attended numerous specialized law enforcement and law enforcement administration courses including:  the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's - Airborne Counterdrug Operations Training Program, the International Association of Chiefs of Police - Achieving Organizational Excellence, the Oregon State Sheriff's Association - Command College, and Major Crimes Conferences, to name a few.