Lake County Sheriff's Department (Indiana)

Lake County Sheriff's Department
Agency overview
Formed 1837
Employees 494
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* County of Lake County in the state of Indiana, United States
Map of Lake County Sheriff's Department's jurisdiction.
Size Total 627 sq mi (1,623 km²)
- Land 499 sq mi (1,292 km²)
- Water 128 sq mi (330 km²)
Population 496,005 (2010)
Legal jurisdiction Lake County, Indiana
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters 2293 North Main Street
Crown Point, Indiana
Merit officers 168 (police officers)
170 (corrections officers)
Civilians 156
Agency executives
  • John A. Buncich, Sheriff
  • Timothy E. Downs,
    Chief of Police
  • Daniel P. Murchek,
    Deputy Chief of Police
Facilities
Police Boats 7
Helicopters 3
Website
Lake County Sheriff's Website
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

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.

Current Sheriff

John A. Buncich, sworn into office on January 1, 2015, is the 49th sheriff of Lake County and is in his fourth term. He had previously held the office for two terms from 1995–2002.

Organization

The Lake County Sheriff's Department employs 168 sworn police officers, 170 sworn corrections officers and 156 civilians under the sheriff's direction.[1]

His command staff includes Chief of Police Timothy Downs 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.[2]

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.[8]

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,[9] a Bell OH-58A N513LC[10] and a Eurocopter EC120B N516RD.[11]

Demographics

Demographics[12]
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.[13]

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

External links

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