Annual Statistics-2016

Dear Sheriff:  Can you give some interesting Sheriff’s department statistics from 2016?

Answer:  A lot has changed since 1830 when the first Sheriff, Eli Penwell, was elected and needed to furnish his own gun, horse and had no jail.  There have been a total of 44 sheriffs since that time.

In 1980, the Census Bureau states that the population of Elkhart County was 137,330.  In 2016, the Census Bureau estimated the population to be 205,500, with approximately 51% of the population in the county living outside any municipal limits.

As the population grew, so did the amount of calls for service for patrol officers.  In 1980, calls for service totaled 20,540.  In 1990, calls for service were 29,108.  And in 2016 total calls for service were 71,438.  This equates to approximately a 347% increase in calls for service from 1980 to 2016!

There were 58 police officers on the Sheriff’s department (also known as merit officers) in 1980, 58 in 1990, 67 in 2000 and 70 in 2016. 

The sale of foreclosed properties are the responsibility of the Sheriff. They are called Sheriff sales and have an auction-type format. In 2016, the average number of properties set in the monthly auction was 32 homes.  There were 384 homes set to be sold for 2016.  This is a decrease from 540 sold in 2015. 

The good news is, due to the improving economy, the average number of sales per month has been declining from 88 in 2013, to 48 in 2014 and 45 in 2015. 

The Sheriff’s office processes applications for handgun licenses for those who reside in Elkhart County outside municipal limits.  In 2016, a total of 1,843 applications were processed.  This was an increase from the 1,259 processed in 2015.  The busiest month for 2016 was December, with 298 total applications.  Of the total for 2016, most were lifetime applications (1695) as opposed to the four year license (148). 

Reserve officers, highly trained volunteers that are sworn police officers, augment the staffing for regular shifts and special events.  The Sheriff’s Reserves contributed 4,690 hours of voluntary service to the community.  They offer their services in the areas of the dive team, as field training officers, patrol and at the 4-H Fair. 

Three Sheriff’s Reserve officers utilized the one motorcycle owned by the department, logging 859 hours of service last year with special events and patrol.

In 2016, there were 7,820 traffic citations and 4,042 warnings issued, showing that more than half the traffic stops result in warnings. My deputies are not citation-driven and are showing great discretion in providing warnings on less serious violations. 

There is currently one detective who actively manages the sex offender registry.   At the end of 2016, the registry consisted of 522 active registrants, which is an increase from the 2015 total of 495 registrants.

For the Sheriff, the medical liability in the jail is typically greater than all other aspects of the job.  Here are a few stats from 2016: There were a total of 3,603 on-site physician visits and 3,059 physicals completed (required by medical standards). The mental health services completed 4,250 inmate counselor visits, 881 psychiatric visits, and 2,163 mental health screenings.

Of the inmate population for 2016, 28 were HIV positive, 14 had a sexually transmitted disease and 683 started detoxification for drugs or alcohol.  Of the inmate population, 68% of the inmate population were on prescription medications and approximately 28% were on psychotropic medications.

There were 82 emergency room visits, 25 hospital admits, and 2 psych admits for inmates.  An on-site dentist had 800 total inmate checkups, which included 136 fillings and 299 extractions. 

The police chaplain corps (not to be confused with the jail chaplain or volunteer chaplains in the jail) is comprised of professionals who are trained to help officers as well as victims in the area of critical emergency situations.  In 2016, the chaplain corps provided 122 hours of volunteer service with 19 call-outs.

Ask-the-Sheriff a question by emailing Elkhart County Sheriff Brad Rogers at brogers@elkhartcountysheriff.com.

Alert sent on 09/07/2017 at 10:49AM EDT

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