The Sheriff's Office, under Sheriff Kight, became the first Sheriff's Office in the State to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
The Sheriff's Office has received numerous awards for crime prevention and other activities.
The Sheriff's Office is the oldest law enforcement agency in Montgomery County having been established in July, 1777. The Maryland Constitution provides that the Sheriff be elected every four years and the Office comes under the Judicial branch of government. The Sheriff is therefore a State Constitutional Officer who functions autonomously from the Legislative and Executive branches of government.
The Sheriff is the enforcement arm of the Judicial system and exercises various law enforcement functions according to the common and statutory laws of Maryland.
The Office is located in the Montgomery County Judicial Center, 50 Maryland Ave., Rockville, Maryland 20850, telephone 240-777-7000, and is staffed twenty-four hours per day.
ADMINISTRATION
This section provides general administrative support to the office including recruiting and hiring, training, background investigations, payroll, purchasing, internal investigations, automation, and budget related functions. The Administration Section provides technical support for Sheriff’s summons, domestic violence, and warrant components of the CJIS(Criminal Justice Information System) on the County’s mainframe.
The Administrative Section also oversees the Sheriff’s compliance with recognized accreditation standards. The Assistant Sheriff directs research and development of policies, procedures, and regulations to meet professional standards developed for law enforcement agencies.
The Sheriff’s Office participates in school functions, civic association meetings, and serves on commissions and committees. The Sheriff’s Office participates in environmental crimes task forces as needed and participates in other public safety agencies’ applicant, promotional, and disciplinary boards. Administrative personnel organize in-service and specialized training of deputies and the annual weapons qualification, as required by the Maryland Police Training Commission.
COURT ORDERED SEIZURES AND SALES
The Sheriff’s Office executes court ordered attachments, real property and personal property seizures, and replevins (a civil action to recover property wrongfully taken). As a final step in resolution of a court judgment, the Sheriff conducts sales of seized or attached items.
COURTHOUSE SECURITY
The Sheriff’s Office provides courthouse security for the Montgomery County Circuit Court. The Sheriff uses a trained canine to detect explosives, weapons, and to serve as a general crime deterrent within the courthouse. The canine unit also responds to mutual aid calls from the Montgomery County Police Department, the Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, and other law enforcement agencies as necessary. In February, 1997, the Sheriff’s Office implemented entry level screening. Screening similar to airports, with x-ray machines and magnetometers, is conducted at the five entrances to the courthouse. Visitors entering the building are now screened.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency in Montgomery County for service of Domestic Violence Petitions and Protective Orders. The Sheriff’s Office has formed a partnership with Bell Atlantic, NYNEX and ADT Security to offer cellular phones and alarm pendants for victims of domestic violence who are the most vulnerable. Domestic violence petitions and protective orders are computerized for tracking and violators can be served by law enforcement officers anywhere in the state of Maryland. Domestic violence has increased substantially in the past several years straining the resources of the Sheriff's Office.
EVICTIONS
The Sheriff restores possession of real property to the rightful owner by evicting tenants and their possessions as directed by the court. These tenants are referred to Human Services agencies in an attempt to avoid actual eviction by paying the rent due or moving prior to the eviction date.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the Sheriff’s Office is to serve the Circuit and District Courts in the conduct of judicial affairs and provide various law enforcement functions as mandated by statutory and common law; and various discretionary duties as requested by county officials.
SECURITY OF COURTROOMS, TRANSPORTS, DETENTION FACILITIES
The Sheriff provides courtroom security for Circuit Court Judges and Domestic Relations Masters. The Sheriff is responsible for transporting and guarding prisoners between the Montgomery County Detention Center (MCDC) and the various court holding facilities, as well as to and from health care facilities. When a writ is received from other counties, deputies are required to transport MCDC prisoners to other Maryland District and Circuit Courts. The Sheriff administers the temporary detention facilities within the Silver Spring and Rockville District Courts and the Rockville Circuit Court for all adult prisoners. The Sheriff’s Office also transports citizens to the hospital on Emergency Evaluation Petitions and Two Doctor Commitments.
SERVICE OF CIVIL PROCESS PAPERS
The Sheriff’s Office is mandated to serve all papers directed to it by the Courts or private litigants and file returns to the Court. These papers include summonses, subpoenas, failure to pay rent notices, and other court documents. The civil process functions is supported by deputies who research and serve papers and by administrative staff who maintain the tracking process in the Sheriff’s summons Component in CJIS and perform related clerical duties.
The Sheriff’s Office currently has a Child Support Enforcement federal grant for the service of Child Support process. With staff strictly dedicated to the grant, this section now receives all the county’s child support process, and serves about 80% of all process issued. Deputies also arrest about 80% of those whom warrants are issued for failure to pay child support (contempt).
TRAINING
All deputy sheriffs are certified law enforcement officers. Deputies receive their initial six month training at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Academy. Thereafter, deputies receive in-service training annually and must remain certified as law enforcement officers by the State of Maryland.
WARRANTS AND EXTRADITIONS
The Sheriff is responsible for serving Circuit Court and District Court civil bench warrants, Circuit Court criminal warrants, and Child Support Enforcement warrants. The Warrant Section maintains on-line warrant systems including National, State, and local systems. The Sheriff also conducts investigations to locate and apprehend those fugitives for whom the Sheriff’s Office holds a warrant. In addition, the Sheriff’s Office is responsible for returning fugitives to Montgomery County from other jurisdictions for outstanding Circuit Court warrants and processing those fugitives when returned.
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