The Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of the county, with his authority derived from Article 6 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana and Indiana Code 36-2-13-5. The Sheriff also has certain authority and powers delegated to him by the Starke County board of Commissioners. It is the policy of the Starke County Sheriff’s Office to support the office of Sheriff with specific guidelines on the order of authority within the Office, absences of the Sheriff and Chief Deputy and orders of authority involving combined operations.

The Sheriff has the following specific powers and duties:

• The Sheriff must arrest without process persons who commit an offense within his view, take them before a court of the county having jurisdiction, and detain them in custody until the cause of the arrest has been investigated
• The Sheriff must suppress breaches of the peace, calling the power of the county to his aid if necessary
• The Sheriff must pursue and jail all felons
• The Sheriff must execute all process directed to him by legal authority
• The Sheriff must serve all process directed to him from a court of the county executive
• The Sheriff must attend and preserve order in all courts of the county
• The Sheriff must take care of the county jail and the prisoners therein
• The Sheriff may take photographs, fingerprints, and other identification data of persons taken into custody for felonies or misdemeanors

The Sheriff has the power to appoint deputies in the manner specified by Indiana Code 36-8-10-4. The powers and duties of the deputies are specified in Indiana Code 36-8-10-9 and are virtually identical to the powers and duties of the Sheriff himself. The difference is that the Sheriff bears the ultimate responsibility for his own acts and the acts of his deputies.

Statutory powers and duties of all deputy sheriffs of the Sheriff’s Office include:

• General police powers
• Shall arrest, without process, all persons who commit an offense within their view, take them before the court having jurisdiction, and detain them in custody until the cause of the arrest has been investigated Shall suppress all breaches of the peace within his knowledge, with authority to call to his aid the power of the county
• Shall pursue and commit to jail all felons
• May execute all process directed to the Sheriff by legal authority
• Shall attend upon and preserve order in all courts of the county
• Shall guard prisoners in the county jail
• Shall serve all process directed to the Sheriff from a court or from the county executive according to law
• Shall take photographs, fingerprints and other identification data as prescribed by the Sheriff of persons taken into custody for felonies and misdemeanors

Command authority in the day-to-day operations of the Starke County Sheriff’s Office through each division is as follows:

1. The Sheriff of Starke County
2. Chief Deputy
3. Executive Commander (Major)
4. Section Commander
5. Unit Supervisor (Sergeant)

When immediate decisions must be made on matters affecting the office as a whole, and a member of the Executive Staff is not available, the decision will be made by the highest ranking senior deputy on duty or available at the time. When immediate decisions must be made on matters affecting the divisions, the executive commanders will make decisions concerning their respective divisions; however, in their absence, the highest ranking senior deputy on duty or available within a particular division (Confinement, Administration, Operations) will make any necessary, immediate decisions.