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Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office
Patch of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office
Badge of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office
Common name	Milwaukee County Sheriff
Abbreviation	MCSO
Motto	"We Are Held To A Higher Standard...And We Ought To Be Proud"
Agency overview
Formed	1835; 189 years ago (1835)
Employees	550
Annual budget	50 million
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	United States
Size	1190 mi
Population	950,000
Legal jurisdiction	Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
General nature	Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	821 W State Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States
Deputies	288
Civilian employees	240
Sheriff responsible	Sheriff Denita Ball
Agency executive	Chief Deputy, Daniel Hughes
Bureaus	4 Administrative Services Bureau Detention Bureau Police Services Bureau Criminal Investigations Bureau
Facilities
Stations	5
Boats	2
Drones	4
K9s	12
Website
county.milwaukee.gov

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is the principal law enforcement agency that serves Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. It provides law enforcement services for the county's freeways and outlying lettered County Trunk Highways, the Milwaukee County Courthouse, the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice Facility and House of Corrections, the county-owned Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, and the Milwaukee County Parks system, including all of the Milwaukee County lakefront, along with the county's few unincorporated sections.

At one time it was the largest sheriff's department in the state of Wisconsin, with about 750 deputy sheriffs. By 2015 the agency had reduced the number of sworn personnel to approximately 300. The reduction of sworn members was due to the county shifting jailing responsibilities to specific correction officers rather than sworn deputies.^[1]

The current sheriff (who is elected by the public as a partisan office) is Denita R. Ball, who was sworn on October 24, 2022. Ball was elected as a Democrat and is the force's first female leader.

The Administrative Services Bureau contains the Open Records Division, Central Records Unit, Media Relations, Clerical Staff, Traffic Desk, Special Events, Training Academy, Community Relations Unit, and the Honor Guard.

The Detention Services Bureau handles inmate health, transportation, food services, inmate housing, property, jail records, visiting, classification, central booking records and warrants.

The Police Services Bureau oversees the Airport Division, Courts Division, Patrol Division, Parks Unit, Civil Process Unit, Motor Units, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit, Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Bicycle Patrol and the Boat Patrol

The Criminal investigations Bureau Oversees the General Investigations Unit, Apprehension Unit, Background Investigations, Undercover Unit, and the Law Enforcement Analyst Division.

1.Sheriff: (1)

2.Chief Deputy: also known as Undersheriff is the second in charge. An Undersheriff partners with the Sheriff to develop the short- and long-term goals of the county’s sheriff’s department. (1)

3.Inspector: oversight of a Bureau operations and budgeting. (3)

4.Captain: oversight of a Division operations and budgeting. (12)

5.Lieutenant: Shift Commander, plans, oversees, and coordinates the daily activities of a designated operational entity of the Sheriff's Office. (9)

6.Sergeant: present the first line of supervisors. They perform all the duties of a Deputy as well as supervise, coordinate, and guide Deputy and other department employees in their daily activities. (15)

7.Deputy Sheriff: works to protect a county’s property and citizens. They patrol highways and cities, investigating crimes and keeping records of different criminal instances. They also escort detainees from court proceedings and ensure the courtroom is peaceful and professional.

Deputy Sheriffs operate different communications devices, like radios and telephones to report and respond to emergency calls. They’ll also navigate the highway and county areas to ensure all drivers are following posted speed limits and adhering to other traffic laws. Many Deputy Sheriffs also serve court documents to individuals.

Title	Insignia
Sheriff
Chief Deputy
Inspector
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Detective
Deputy Sheriff

Since the establishment of the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, 12 officers have died in the line of duty.^[2] For 11 years, the Milwaukee County Law Enforcement Executives Association, in conjunction with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and the Milwaukee Police Department, has hosted the Greater Milwaukee Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony annually in May.^[3][4] The event, which honors Milwaukee County law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, is part of the National Law Enforcement Memorial Week.^[5]

Weapons and other duty equipment

• Sig P320 9mm- standard issue pistol, replaced Glock Model 22 Gen 4 .40
• Smith & Wesson M&P15- The Smith & Wesson M&P15 is used for normal patrol deputies.
• Taser X7- Used by patrol deputies as well as corrections officers.

Vehicles:

• Chevrolet Tahoe- patrol SUV
• Dodge Charger- patrol car
• Ford Explorers- patrol SUV

• List of law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin

• Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office