Cook County Sheriff's Office - Sheriff's Office Divisions

Sheriff's Office Divisions

The Cook County Sheriff's Office is carved into several divisions.

• The Cook County Sheriff's Boot Camp is designed to provide non-violent offenders a strict detention program based on military discipline, fundamental vocational skills, education and alcohol/substance abuse treatment. In addition, the Boot Camp features an 8-month long post-detention supervision program where participants must return to the Boot Camp on a daily basis to continue educational programming.
• The Department of Corrections is one of the largest single-site pre-trial holding facilities in the world. Sheriff's Correctional Officers are responsible for the security of more than 9,000 detainees, many of whom are violent offenders awaiting trial in the criminal court system.
• The Court Services Division provides security for all courtrooms, judges and other government officials as well as prisoners being tried. In addition to providing courtroom security, Deputy Sheriffs operate security posts at the entrance of each facility where many arrests are made every year of individuals attempting to enter with weapons, drugs and other various contraband. Cook County is home to one of the largest unified court systems in the world including the Richard J. Daley Center which is one arguably the largest courthouse in the world.
• The Central Warrant Unit is responsible for the apprehension of fugitives wanted on warrants for offenses ranging from contempt of court for failure to pay child support to escape and murder. This unit works closely with the United States Marshal's Great Lakes Task Force and is also responsible for extradition of offenders from outside the Cook County area.
• The Criminal Intelligence Unit is a vital information hub gathering gang intelligence from within the Department of Corrections and bridges the information gap between all divisions of the Sheriff's office and outside agencies. This unit is also responsible for investigative services within Corrections and Court facilities and is featured in the MSNBC television series "The Squeeze".
• The Sheriff's Police Department is charged with patrolling unincorporated areas of Cook County as well as assisting suburban police departments with police operations including, but not limited to, detective and evidence services, narcotics interdiction, bomb detection and disposal, vice operations, gang crimes investigation and Hostage/Barricade/Terrorist incidents. Approximately 109,000 people live in unincorporated communities within Cook County among the county's 5.3 million total population. The Cook County Sheriff's Police Academy trains police recruits within the department as well as those from suburban agencies.
• The Department of Women's Justice Services administers gender responsive drug treatment programs for female offenders and programs for pregnant detainees among many other services.
• The Jail Diversion and Crime Prevention Division was designed to make the Cook County Sheriff’s Office more useful and accessible to residents. It operates many vital preventive and educational programs that municipalities, schools and average citizens can take advantage of free of charge. Programs include DUI and Distracted Driving Prevention, Graffiti Removal, New Path Speaker’s Series, and the SMART Program.
• The Office Of Professional Review investigates allegations of misconduct within the Sheriff's Office.