The Cook County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) is the principal

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

that serves

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

. It is the second largest sheriff's office in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, with over 6,900 members when at full operational strength. It is headed by the

Cook County Sheriff The Cook County Sheriff is the sheriff of Cook County, Illinois, heading the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Office description Terms are currently four-years in length. Officeholders Election results , - , colspan=21 style="text-align:cent ...

, currently Thomas Dart. Like other sheriffs' offices in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, the Sheriff can provide all traditional

law-enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

functions, including county-wide patrol and investigations irrespective of municipal boundaries, even in the city of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, but has traditionally limited its police patrol functions to

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

s of the county because unincorporated areas are the primary jurisdiction of a Sheriff's Office in Illinois. The Sheriff's Police patrol services are often not required in incorporated cities because the cities such as Chicago have established their own police departments. Sheriff's Deputies provide the other services of the sheriff, such as

service of process Each legal jurisdiction has rules and discrete terminology regarding the appropriate procedures for serving legal documents on a person being sued or subject to legal proceedings. In the U.S. legal system, service of process is the procedure ...

, enforcing

eviction Eviction is the removal of a Tenement (law), tenant from leasehold estate, rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosure, foreclosed by a mortgagee (often ...

s and levies, securing

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

s, securing and operating the 9,000-plus detainee population of the

Cook County Jail The Cook County Jail, located on in South Lawndale, Chicago, Illinois, is operated by the Sheriff of Cook County. It is sometimes referred to as ''California'' or ''Hotel California'', as its address is on California Avenue. A city jail has e ...

, transporting prisoners and overseeing offender rehabilitation programs.

Sheriff's Office Internal Departments

The Cook County Sheriff's Office is carved into several departments.

Sheriff's Police

The Cook County Sheriff's Police Department has over 500 state certified law enforcement officers charged with patrolling unincorporated areas of Cook County as well as assisting suburban police departments with police operations including, but not limited to,

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

and crime scene investigator (CSI) services,

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

s interdiction, bomb detection and disposal,

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

operations,

street crime Street crime is a loose term for any criminal offense in a public place. According to London's Metropolitan Police Force, "Robbery, often called 'mugging', and thefts from victims in the street where their property is snatched and the victim is no ...

s suppression and

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

barricade Barricade (from the French ''barrique'' - 'barrel') is any object or structure that creates a barrier or obstacle to control, block passage or force the flow of traffic in the desired direction. Adopted as a military term, a barricade denotes ...

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

incidents. Approximately 109,000 people live in unincorporated communities within Cook County among the county's 5.3 million total population. The Cook County Sheriff's Police Training Academy trains police recruits within the department as well as those from suburban agencies.

Detention and corrections

Cook County Sheriff's Department of Corrections is one of the largest single-site pre-trial holding facilities in the world. Deputy Sheriff's assigned to Department of Corrections are responsible for the security of more than 9,000 detainees, many of whom are violent offenders awaiting trial in the criminal court system. *Sheriff's Police Fugitive Warrant Unit is responsible for the apprehension of

fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

s wanted on warrants for criminal offenses. This unit works closely with the United States Marshal's Great Lakes Task Force and is also responsible for extradition of offenders from outside the Cook County area. *Sheriff's Office BII / Criminal Intelligence Unit is a vital information hub gathering gang intelligence from within the Department of Corrections and bridges the information gap between all divisions of the sheriff's office and outside agencies. This unit is also responsible for investigative services within corrections and court facilities and is featured in the MSNBC television series "The Squeeze". *Jail Diversion and Crime Prevention Division was designed to make the Cook County Sheriff's Office more useful and accessible to residents. It operates many vital preventive and educational programs that municipalities, schools and average citizens can take advantage of free of charge. Programs include DUI and

distracted driving Distracted driving is the act of driving while engaging in other activities which distract the driver's attention away from the road. Distractions are shown to compromise the safety of the driver, passengers, pedestrians, and people in other vehic ...

prevention,

graffiti removal Graffiti has long been considered an act of vandalism that signifies urban decay and a detriment to property values in an area. Therefore, most governments have seen graffiti as detrimental, and have outlawed the practice. However, due to most ins ...

, New Path speakers' series, and the SMART program.

Internal affairs

The Office Of Professional Review investigates allegations of

misconduct Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...

within the sheriff's office.

Court services

The Court Services Department provides security for all

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

s and other government officials as well as prisoners being tried. In addition to providing courtroom security, deputy sheriffs operate security posts at the entrance of each facility where many arrests are made every year of individuals attempting to enter with weapons, drugs and other various

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") is any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It comprises goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes of the leg ...

. Cook County is home to one of the largest unified court systems in the world, including the Richard J. Daley Center which is arguably the largest courthouse in the world. The Court Services Department also enforces court orders such as evictions.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Government of Cook County, Illinois Sheriffs' departments of Illinois