Washington County Sheriff - Contract Services
The Washington County Sheriff's Office works with a local community to provide an economical and efficient solution to their law enforcement needs through contracting.
Contract Services with Municipalities
Contract policing refers to the Sheriff’s Office providing a fee-based law enforcement service to a municipality. A municipality assesses its law enforcement needs and then contracts with the Sheriff’s Office to provide the services that are required to meet those needs. Terms of the contract are tailored to the needs of the community, such as the number of Deputy Sheriff positions assigned, hours of coverage, vehicles and equipment and other specific needs. This arrangement eliminates duplication of resources, such as operational infrastructure, supervision, specialized equipment and administrative support services. The municipalities can be provided with high quality law enforcement services without the associated overhead costs and can contract for only the services the municipality desires.
A municipality that decides on contracted law enforcement services can enjoy the financial benefits of economies of scale. The municipality can eliminate the liabilities and expenses associated with running their own small police department by taking advantage of the capacities of a larger department.
Since 2007, the Sheriff’s Office has provided contract police services for the Village of Richfield ( pop.11,440 ). This successful collaboration between the Village and Sheriff’s Office provides Village residents with comprehensive and affordable law enforcement services. The Sheriff’s Office assigns two full time patrol positions to the Village and supplements resources as needed to provide 24/7 seamless protection to Village residents. Provisions of the contract address supervision, administration and specialized enforcement/investigative units. Deputies enforce local ordinances in addition to county ordinances, state and federal law.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has the ability to provide contract policing services to municipalities within the county upon formal request. If you have additional questions on contract police services in your area, please contact Sheriff Schmidt at 335-4388.