About the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office

The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office is organized into three Bureaus: Law Enforcement Bureau; Corrections Bureau; and, Staff Support Bureau.  While most state and local law enforcement agencies have the bulk of their personnel assigned to patrol and/or law enforcement related duties, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office has the bulk of its personnel assigned to corrections related duties.  This is typical of Sheriff’s offices and departments throughout the United States because, over time, the primary function of sheriff agencies has moved from law enforcement to court services and corrections related functions.

The structure of the Corrections Bureau is made up of the five Jail Divisions: Jail Processing, Jail Housing, Jail Security, Jail Services, and Jail Support. It is the largest Bureau in the Sheriff's Office with approximately 515 sworn allocations and 351 civilian allocations. The Bureau is responsible for all functions related to the safe incarceration of Salt Lake County prisoners.

The Law Enforcement Bureau of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office is responsible for the delivery of those services traditionally associated with police operations. It is composed of five Districts/Divisions which are responsible for all patrol, investigation, and other specialized duties. In 2004, the Bureau was restructured to include the Wasatch, Oquirrh, and Taylorsville City Districts, and the Investigations and Special Operations Divisions. The "Districts", previously know as "Divisions", were renamed to reflect the addition of property crime investigations to their primary patrol responsibilities. The Investigations Division handles all crimes against persons, narcotics and fugitive investigations. The Special Operations Division is just that, providing specialized service in the form of canyon patrol, search and rescue, SWAT, and major traffic accident investigations.

With the Law Enforcement Bureau of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office is the Special Operations Unit.  It is provides special law enforcement functions such as: K-9 Unit; Canyons Unit; Search & Rescue; Motor Squad Unit; SWAT Team; Major Accident Team; Hit and Run Investigation; Commercial Vehicle Enforcement; Mounted Posse; and, Crossing Guards.

The SWAT team of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Department “is comprised of a lieutenant team commander and 25 deputy operators, including sergeant team leaders. While most team members hold primary assignments outside Special Operations, they must meet strict requirements to maintain operational status. Team members must pass stringent office and team firearms qualifications quarterly and a physical agility test semi-annually. Operators must attend a minimum of 150 hours of specialized training annually in addition to POST requirements. The team conducted extensive "live fire" tactical exercises in a state-of-the-art firearms facility this year. Augmenting general tactical expertise required, the team has experts in the fields of less lethal munitions, explosive breaching, marksman/sniper, tactical medics, firearms instructors, and advanced tactical operations.”

Source

Slsheriff.org