The Bannock County Sheriff's Office was established in 1893, when the
Mills Act created Bannock County. Now, over a century later, we find the
Bannock County Sheriff's Office a state of the art office, being
recognized as one of the pioneers in rural law enforcement in the state. The
ever increasing growth in the Pocatello and the surrounding communities has
placed increasing demands for service on the Sheriff's Office. Because good
police service is expensive, we have found it necessary to become innovative in
order to provide adequate law enforcement at a reasonable cost to our
constituents. We are proud of the fact that we were the first county within the
State to introduce a dual purpose K-9 program. This program, since its
implementation, has been used not only by our agency, but other local agencies
in the fight against drugs. It has been a very successful program and millions
of dollars of narcotics have been taken off our streets. We also started the
first rural Mountain Bike Patrol Unit, which we use to patrol areas within the
County where instances make it more advantageous to use bicycles rather than
patrol cars.
Our Patrol Division consists of 19 deputies, who provide twenty-four hour law
enforcement services to all the unincorporated areas of the County and to four
(4) contracted municipalities. Patrol areas amount to 1142 square miles, with a
total county population of almost 70,000. In addition, some of the patrol
officers belong to our STAR (Special Tactics and Response)Team, who have
received special training to handle hostage and other high risk incidents..
Our Detention Division consists of 56 deputies. In 1955, a new jail was built
to house 72 inmates. It provided almost forty (40) years of service before
inmate populations demanded that a new and larger facility be constructed.
Today, a modern facility, which was constructed in 1994, can house 253 inmates.
Within this new facility we also have a medical infirmary which provides the
necessary medical and dental service to the inmates. Within the Detention
Division we have developed a specialized unit which we call the SCILD
(Sheriff/Commissioners Inmate Labor Detail) Team, which is made up of low risk
inmates who provide community service work rather than sitting their time out
within a cell. This program provides more beds for those who need to be confined
due to the degree of the crime that they have committed, while at the same time
provides a great service within the community in completing clean up and service
projects. This unit is manned by 3 deputies who oversee the work of the inmates.
Also included in our Detention Division is the DART (Detention Automatic
Response Team) which is composed of highly trained Detention Officers who
perform cell extractions and cell searches for hidden contraband and weapons.
Our office is the first office within the state to develop this program.
The Sheriff's Office is also comprised of a Detective Division, with 8
trained detectives working felony cases. We also have one detective who works
directly with the Department of Health & Welfare in investigating child abuse
cases. Our Office was an active participator in developing a multi-agency
approach to child abuse investigation, which included the development of a
special interview room used exclusively for the interviewing of child abuse
victims. Our protocol has been used as a model program for the State of Idaho.
Other divisions within our office are the Court Services Division,
comprised of 8 deputies who perform court security duties, a Training Division,
and a Civil Division which comprises both the Drivers License Office and also is
responsible for the processing and serving of all civil papers within the
County. Our Support Services Division staffs the Emergency 911 Communications
Center, as well as Emergency Services. Within this division are the volunteer
groups that staff the Search & Rescue Unit and the Ham Radio Operators, who
assist the department in emergency situations.
Other services performed by the Sheriff's Office include a Records
Department, School Resource Officer, the registering of sex offenders living
within the County, the issuing of Concealed Weapon Permits, Crime Prevention
programs, and the Chaplain Corps.
The Bannock County Sheriff's Office mission is to provide the citizens of
Bannock County with quality law enforcement through a team of professional,
compassionate men and women, who strive daily to work together to make a
difference within our communities.
