The Delaware County Sheriff’s office provides law enforcement services for county unincorporated areas covering an area of 393 square miles. Approximately 50 officers work in the uniform division providing services to about 40,000 citizens. This Division is headed by Captain Tony Johnson.
This group of highly trained volunteer deputies supplement all aspects of the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. Reserve deputies are civilian volunteers, men and women trained to assist regular deputies in performing police functions. Our reserve work over 12,000 hours per calendar year offering law enforcement services to this community. We are greatly in debt to them for their services. Lt. Andy Payne serves as liaison for the reserve organization. The current president is Larry Bledsoe.
Deputies escort prisoners to and from court hearings and provide court security for citizens and court personnel while court is in session. The Delaware County Sheriff’s office provides court security for 5 circuit courts, family support court, and juvenile court. Court Officers escort approximately 6000 inmates per year to and from court. These Officers also transport inmates between correctional facilities through the state of Indiana. This Division is headed by Lt. Bill Curtis.
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office Crash Investigations Team uses a scientific approach to reconstruct accidents from evidence left at the scene. This team of highly trained deputies is used at accidents resulting in serious bodily injury or fatality. The crash team is led by Sergeant Stash Hellis.
This highly trained and practiced unit is designed for tactical operations. The members of this squad utilize specialized weapons and equipment to complete tactical assignments such as barricaded suspects or the execution of felony drug warrants. The team is made up of deputies from the Sheriff’s office and also includes select team members from both Albany and Yorktown police departments. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office recently acquired a new “swat truck” and Mobile Command center. The addition of these special vehicles will allow the SWAT team even greater efficiency. The team commander is Captain Tony Johnson.
The DCSO Bomb disposal/EOD team consists of a federally certified executive manager for Bomb Squads; three law enforcement certified Bomb Technicians, and three support deputies trained to search for explosives. Chief Deputy Jeff Stanley is the bomb squad commander.
This Unit consists of fresh water operations including rapid water rescues. The members of this unit engage in rescue and recovery operations in the counties many public and private bodies of water including Prairie Creek Reservoir and the White River. The Sheriff’s Office has multiple inflatable rescue boats with motors that were taken to Louisiana and Mississippi to help with rescue and recovery operations of Hurricane Katrina. Lt. Ken Lopez oversees the dive team.
The Delaware County Search and Rescue Team is comprised of Sheriff’s Deputies and Volunteers. The members of this team are trained in search and rescue techniques. Members volunteer both their time and personally owned equipment such as airplanes, four wheel all terrain vehicles, snow mobiles to mount searches whenever necessary. This community-based team offers an invaluable service to Delaware County. Lt. Rick Richman is in charge of this team.
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office offers community support and services in the form of educational programs such as “McGruff the Crime Dog” which teaches children to help “take a bite out of crime”. TRIAD is a program designed to teach senior citizens how to protect themselves from things such as identity theft or fraud. The Public Relations trailer, we are able to go out into the community at events such as “Summer Heat” or the Delaware County Fair to get information into the hands of our citizens about these and other ongoing community service programs we are proud to offer.
The Sheriffs Chaplin Program offers professional religious/social ministry services to citizens in crisis situations. Volunteer ministers work in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Deputies to offer these services. These chaplains are trained and equipped to offer counseling, comfort and support to people in emergency situations. Times of extreme emotional turmoil for our citizens such as death notifications and domestic violence situations are examples of when our chaplains could offer their services to members of the community. Chaplains must be ordained ministers of a recognized denomination, or a reputable independent church or religious organization. Our chaplains are available for service 24 hours a day whenever and wherever they are needed.