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Policing Division | Suffolk County Sheriff's Office
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POLICE DIVISION

The Police Division of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office ​includes the Enforcement Bureau, the Headquarters Bureau, the District Court Bureau, the Family Court Bureau (Warrant Squad and the Domestic Violence Unit), the Criminal Investigation Bureau, The Special Operations Bureau, and Pistol Licensing. The Police Division is overseen by the Chief Deputy Sheriff.

Headquarters

 

The Headquarters Bureau, operating twenty-four hours a day, is the largest section of the Enforcement Division. The Bureau is located at the lower level of the Criminal Courts Building, 200 Center Drive, Riverhead, New York. The Headquarters Bureau is staffed with one Captain, two Lieutenants, nine Sergeants and eighty-four Deputies. The Sergeants and Deputies work various shifts to provide 24 hours a day, 7 days per week coverage. 

The six major responsibilities of the Headquarters Bureau are: transportation and security of inmates outside the Correctional Facility, operation of a feeder detention center, 24/7 perimeter security of the Sheriff's facilities, to provide general law enforcement services to the public, county agencies and support assistance to other law enforcement agencies, K-9 patrol and response, Marine Patrol of the East End of Long Island.

Domestic Violence

 

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office Domestic Violence Unit is responsible for the service and enforcement of orders of protection throughout Suffolk County.  They also arrest individuals charged with violating orders of protection and those with family offense related warrants.  The Domestic Violence Unit provides victims with a safe refuge by removing batterers from the home, seizing weapons and executing arrest warrants against the perpetrators of domestic violence.

The Domestic Violence Unit continues in its mission of serving orders of protection on behalf of the courts to those individuals that are deemed a danger to another.  Acquiring an order of protection is an important step in the fight against domestic violence.  Having it served promptly gives the victim an important tool to protect themselves.  The Domestic Violence Unit also continues to aggressively seek out and arrest those persons with family offense related warrants. Having these persons in custody and brought before a judge reduces the likelihood that they will abuse or assault their victim again.

The Domestic Violence Unit works closely with various domestic violence agencies both on the private and county level to offer or assist victims of domestic violence. 

First District Court

 

The primary function of the First District Court Bureau is the secure transportation and housing of all inmates and detainees to ensure their presence at required court proceedings. These proceedings include arraignment, hearings, trials, CPL 180.80 process, County Court appearances, Grand Jury appearances, and to answer all misdemeanor crimes committed in the five western townships of Suffolk County. This Bureau is also tasked with the secure transportation of all inmates and detainees remanded to the custody of the Sheriff by any of the twenty-two courtrooms working out of the Cohalan Court Complex in Central Islip.

The specific functions of this Bureau are as follows: provide the secure transportation of all inmates to and from the Suffolk County Correctional Facilities and the First District Court Building; perform court-ordered transportation of inmates who are housed in various out-of-county facilities such as Nassau County Correctional Facility and Rikers Island Correctional Facilities; provide transportation and process paperwork for inmates destined to County Court, Supreme Court, and Family Court; and work in conjunction with outside police agencies, Suffolk County Correction Officers, New York State Court Officers, etc. so the court process may proceed efficiently. 

The Bureau is also responsible for police liaison activities between the Sheriff’s Office and the Courts. Such liaison activities include the handling, oversight, and distribution of Deputy Sheriff arrest packages to the proper court personnel. All supporting deposition requests originating from Deputy Sheriff vehicle and traffic summonses and arrests are processed through this Bureau.

Special Operations

The Special Operations Bureau of the Police Division includes Investigative Services, Task Force Personnel, Homeland Security, Emergency Management, Tactical Operations, The Honor Guard, The SPIDRE DWI Team, the Marine Unit, The Canine (K9) Unit, Asset Forfeiture, and Air Support.

Warrant Squad

The Suffolk County Sheriff's Office Warrant Bureau is located in the Family Court Building of the John P. Cohalan Court Complex located at 400 Carleton Avenue, Central Islip, New York. The Sheriff's Warrant Bureau derives its legal authority from Article XVII of the Suffolk County Charter, pursuant to Article 8, §400 and Article 17, §650 of the New York State County Law, New York State Family Court Act and Article 1.20 of the New York State Criminal Procedure Law.

The Warrant Bureau consists of six sections, each with distinctive areas of responsibility

  1. Family Offense/Abuse & Neglect Section

  2. Juvenile Section. 

  3. General Services Section

  4. Sheriff's Warrant Apprehension Program (Child Support)

  5. Criminal Warrants Section

Each Section has Deputy Sheriff Investigators whose primary responsibilities are the tasks of that Section, however all Deputy Sheriff Investigators work with each other to insure that assignments of higher priority are carried out in that manner.

The Warrant Bureau, on a regular basis, assists all police agencies in Suffolk County, including district, town and villages, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, as well as Nassau County and New York City Police and Sheriff Departments.  The Warrant Bureau receives requests from many other New York State agencies regarding individual wanted by those agencies who currently reside in Suffolk County. We also receive Fugitive from Justice Warrants from various agencies throughout the United States. Individuals who are arrested as a Fugitive from Justice are arraigned in Suffolk County courts and held until the wanting agency arranges inmate transportation. 

The Warrant Bureau also provides assistance to US DOJ Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with the execution of search warrants, the United States Marshal Service (USMS) Felony Task Force, with manpower provided for fugitive warrant sweeps. 

Members of the Warrant Bureau are assigned to various ancillary commands in the Sheriff’s Office. These commands include; Marine Bureau, Dive Team, Bicycle Squad, Sheriff’s Tactical Response Team, Honor Guard, Sheriff’s Executive Security Detail and the Motorcycle Unit.

The Warrant Bureau is tasked with the transportation of certain juveniles, who are charged with various crimes, to and from the courts of Suffolk County and the locations where those juveniles are housed. The Warrant Bureau transports all Juvenile Offenders (JOs), those individuals less than 16, charged with a designated felony and Adolescent offenders (AOs), those individuals aged 16 and 17 that are charged with any felony.

Criminal Investigations

The Criminal Investigations Bureau was organized in October 1981 to investigate and prosecute any and all crimes committed within any of the Sheriff's Office Facilities or against any of the office’s members.  This unit will also conduct any criminal investigations as directed by the Sheriff.

The Criminal Investigations Bureau, C.I.B., coordinates and acts as liaison between the Sheriff's Office and all other law enforcement agencies.  C.I.B. conducts all criminal and potentially criminal investigations as well as all attempted suicide and death investigations that relate to persons placed in the custody of the Sheriff of Suffolk County or that relate to incidents, events or circumstances involving operations or functions being conducted by Sheriff’s Office personnel.

C.I.B. handles felony arrests made by members of the Sheriff's Office to ensure that all court paperwork is in the correct format and completed to proper legal standards.  This Bureau evaluates information and conducts investigations into allegations of criminal activities within the geographical area of Suffolk County as well as the confines of the counties correctional facilities. Many criminal investigations conducted by this bureau result in the arrest and prosecution of individuals introducing or attempting to introduce contraband into Sheriff's Office facilities.  During the course of these investigations all other criminal activity suspected is thoroughly investigated and acted upon accordingly.  

C.I.B. works in conjunction with the District Attorney's Office in preparing and presenting cases to the Grand Jury.  All evidence relating to Sheriff's Office arrests are processed through this bureau.  C.I.B. is also responsible for the safe escort of high security inmates to and from various correctional facilities, courts and other locations outside the boundaries of the correctional facilities.  C.I.B. also provides manpower to other law enforcement agencies, when requested, to assist in various task force operations.

Headquarters
Domestic Violence
First District Court
Special Operations
Warrant Squad
Criminal Investigations
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