Lake County Sheriff's Department (Indiana)

The Lake County Sheriff's Department is the county law enforcement agency for Lake County, Indiana. The first sheriff was elected in 1837, when Lake County was organized.

Lake County Sheriff's Department
Agency overview
Formed1837
Employees494
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionLake County, Indiana, United States
Map of Lake County Sheriff's Department's jurisdiction.
SizeTotal 627 sq mi (1,623 km²)
- Land 499 sq mi (1,292 km²)
- Water 128 sq mi (330 km²)
Population496,005 (2010)
Legal jurisdictionLake County, Indiana
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters2293 North Main Street
Crown Point, Indiana
Merit officers168 (police officers)
170 (corrections officers)
Civilians156
Agency executives
  • Oscar Martinez, Jr.[1], Sheriff
  • Vincent M. Balbo[2],
    Chief of Police
  • Edward G. Jenkins[3],
    Deputy Chief of Police
Facilities
Police Boats7
Helicopters3
Website
Lake County Sheriff's Website

Organization

The Lake County Sheriff's Department employs 168 sworn police officers, 170 sworn corrections officers and 156 civilians under the sheriff's direction.[4]

The command staff includes a chief of police and four commanders, each responsible for a division, who are assisted by deputy commanders. The Corrections Division is led by a chief warden, an assistant warden and three deputy wardens.[5]

  • Staff Services Division consists of the Bureau of Information, Bookkeeping, Human Resources, Property/Evidence Management, Telecommunications, Training and Vehicle Maintenance Operations.[6]
  • Civil Division is charged with serving summons, subpoenas, evictions and writs of the Lake County Superior and Circuit courts as well as from other jurisdictions.[7]
  • Corrections Division operates the Lake County Jail and administers the Work Release Program designed as an alternative to incarceration for non-violent offenders.[8] The modern Lake County Jail opened in 1975 in a five-floor facility with 286 beds. In 1991, capacity was increased to 460 beds and additions in 2000 provided for a total of 1,085 beds.[4] A Special Operations Response Team (SORT) is utilized in controlling inmate disturbances and restoring order in emergency situations.
  • Criminal Investigations Division comprises the General Assignment, Auto Theft, Special Victims Unit, and Warrant units as well as the Crime Laboratory and officers assigned to multi-jurisdictional task forces.[9]
  • Uniform Division primarily provides police service to the unincorporated areas of the county and in the town of Winfield which does not have an established police department.[10] This division also maintains an organized Bicycle Unit as well as a Traffic Unit which utilizes both patrol vehicles and motorcycles for enforcement and has trained accident reconstructionists. The Court Security Unit provides security at all county courts located at the Lake County Government Center and at facilities in East Chicago, Gary and Hammond.

The department also has a number of Special Operations Units with specifically trained personnel assigned for Aquatics Underwater Recovery and Rescue, Aviation, Bomb Squad, Chaplains, K-9, Marine, Tactical (SWAT) and a mobile communications Command Center.[11]

Aircraft

The Lake County Sheriff's Department has three helicopters used for law enforcement in the county and for assistance to local police agencies. They are maintained by the Aviation Unit and are operated from the Griffith-Merrillville Airport in Griffith, Indiana.

According to FAA records, the helicopters currently registered to the agency include a Bell OH-58A N512LC,[12] a Bell OH-58A N513LC[13] and a Eurocopter EC120B N516RD.[14]

Demographics
Demographics[15]
Male93%
Female7%
White71%
African-American16%
Hispanic13%
Asian0%

Fallen officers

In the history of the Lake County Sheriff's Department, six officers have been killed in the line of duty.[16]

Name Date of death Age Tenure Cause of death
Deputy Sheriff George R. Zorodney March 14, 1930 38 1 year Motorcycle accident
Sheriff Roy F. Holley January 16, 1933 43 4 years Gunfire
Sergeant William G. Paterson January 25, 1994 44 18 years Vehicular pursuit
Deputy Paul W. Mitchell June 12, 1999 24 1 year Automobile accident
Deputy Chief Gary L. Martin August 22, 2006 63 28½ years Bicycle accident
Corrections Officer Britney R. Meux March 6, 2012 25 3 years Vehicular assault

See also

References
  1. Bill Dolan (September 16, 2017). "New Lake County Sheriff Martinez credited experience, Hammond support for victory". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  2. "Chief of Police biography". Lake County Sheriff's Department. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  3. "Deputy Chief of Police biography". Lake County Sheriff's Department. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  4. History of the Lake County Sheriff's Department Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Command Staff of the Lake County Sheriff's Department
  6. Administrative Services Division overview Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Civil Division overview Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Corrections Division overview Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Criminal Investigations Division overview Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Uniform Division overview Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Special Operations Units overview Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  12. "FAA Registry (N512LC)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  13. "FAA Registry (N513LC)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  14. "FAA Registry (N516RD)". Federal Aviation Administration.
  15. Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers Archived 2006-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  16. The Officer Down Memorial Page
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