Harris County Sheriff's Office
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The Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is a local law enforcement agency serving the over three million citizens of Harris County, Texas, United States.
As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 3.4 million (a 2005 estimate placed the population at almost 3.7 million), making it the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the United States. Its county seat is Houston. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has approximately 3,500 employees and is the largest sheriff’s office in the state of Texas and the third largest in the nation. The number one and two largest sheriff’s offices in the nation are respectively the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in California and the Cook County Sheriff's Office in Illinois.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is the primary law enforcement agency in the 1,118 square miles of unincorporated area of Harris County, serving as the equivalent of the county police for the approximately 1,071,485 people living in the unincorporated areas of the county. In Texas, sheriffs and their deputies are fully empowered peace officers with county-wide jurisdiction and thus, may legally exercise their authority in unincorporated and incorporated areas of their county; they primarily provide law enforcement services for only the unincorporated areas of a county, while yielding to municipal police or city marshals to provide law enforcement services for the incorporated areas. All peace officers in Texas; whether Sheriff's, city police, State Troopers, constables or Marshals have state-wide arrest powers for any criminal offense committed within their presence or view.
The jurisdiction of the Harris County Sheriff's Office often overlaps with several other law enforcement agencies, among them the Texas Department of Public Safety (Highway Patrol), the eight Harris County Constable Precincts, and several municipal police agencies including the city of Houston Police Department. The duties of a Texas sheriff generally include keeping the county jail, providing bailiffs for the county and district courts within his county and serving process issued by said courts, and providing general law enforcement services to residents. The current sheriff of Harris County, Tommy Thomas, has been in office since 1995.
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[edit] Organization
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is divided into ten bureaus: Executive, Patrol, Patrol Support Services, Detective, Public Services, Detentions, Field Operations Support, Human Resources, Support Services and Homeland Security. Each bureau is a major function of the department. Each bureau is commanded by a major. Each bureau is further divided into divisions/sections.
EXECUTIVE BUREAU
Internal Affairs Division
Public Information Office
PATROL BUREAU
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
PATROL SUPPORT SERVICES BUREAU
Traffic Enforcement Division
Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit
Crime Control Division/Hot Spot Unit
Park Patrol Division
Canine Unit
Marine Division
Dive Team
Motorist Assistance Program (M.A.P.)
DECTECTIVE BUREAU
Sex Crimes Unit
Auto Theft
Burlgary & Theft
Criminal Warrants Division
Domestic Violence
Homicide
Covert Operations Division - Narcotics/Vice Unit
Runaways
Sex Crimes Offenders Registration
Victims Assistance
DETENTION BUREAU
1200 Baker Street Jail
701 San Jacinto Street Jail
1307 Baker Street Jail
PUBLIC SERVICES BUREAU
Courts Division
Prisoner Logistics Command
Inmate Processing Center
Central Records
Transportation Division
FIELD OPERATIONS SUPPORT SERVICES BUREAU
Communications Division
Investigative Support Division
Crime Scene Unit
SUPPORT SERVICES BUREAU
Inmate Affairs
Medical Division
Support Services
HUMAN RESOURCES BUREAU
Recruiting and Background Investigations
Academy
Personnel Services
Family Assistance Unit
Uniform Supply and Inventory Control
Career Development
Business Office
Network Administration
HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU
[edit] History
John Moore was sworn in as the first sheriff of what was then called Harrisburg County (later renamed Harris County) in February 1837. Among the oldest law enforcement agencies in Texas, the department has grown from a single man on horseback to a modern agency with 3500 employees, including over 2500 sworn officers.
- List of Harris County Sheriffs
- John W. Moore..............1837-1841
- Mangus T. Rodgers..........1841-1843
- John Fitzgerald............1844-1846
- David Russell..............1846-1850
- James B. Hogan.............1850-1854
- Thomas M. Hogan............1854-1856
- John R. Grymes.............1856-1858
- George W. Frazier..........1858-1861
- B.P. Lanham................1861-1865
- John Proudfoot.............1866
- Irvin Capters Lord.........1866
- A.B. Hall..................1866-1873
- Sam S. Ashe................1873-1875
- Cornelius M. Noble.........1876-1883
- John J. Fant...............1884-1886
- George W. Ellis............1887-1895
- Albert Erichson............1896
- W.M. Baugh.................1897-1898
- Archie Anderson............1899-1912
- Marion F. Hammond..........1913-1918
- Thomas A. Binford..........1919-1936
- Norfleet Hill..............1937-1942
- Neal Polk..................1942-1948
- Clairville "Buster" Kern...1949-1972
- Jack Heard.................1973-1984
- Johnny Klevenhagen.........1985-1995
- Tommy Thomas...............1995-
[edit] Ranks
These are the ranks of the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
| Title | Insignia |
|---|---|
| Sheriff |
 |
| Chief Deputy |
 |
| Major |
 |
| Captain |
 |
| Lieutenant |
 |
| Sergeant Supervisor / Sergeant Investigator |
 |
| Deputy Investigator | |
| Deputy | |
| Detention Officer / Jailor |
Those with the rank of sergeant and above are issued gold badges. Deputies are issued silver badges. Detention officers (jailers) wear white uniform shirts with no badge. Academy cadets wear a white uniform shirt with a cloth badge.
Promotion to the ranks of sergeant through captain are made via a civil service testing process that includes a written exam and an oral review board. Chief deputies and majors are appointed by the sheriff.
