Administrative Staff

Divisions

The administrative division is responsible for the essential day-to-day functions of the sheriff’s office not covered by patrol or investigations. Examples include maintaining the back-up center for Owensboro Daviess County central dispatch, the Judicial Security Unit, as well as recruitment, hiring, training of our deputies and staff, supply, and many other roles that are not covered by Patrol, Investigations, and Tax Divisions. 

Whitesville Field Office

Community leaders and citizens of Whitesville, the only other incorporated city in Daviess County, have for many years requested a greater law enforcement presence in that area. As a result, in April we established a DCSO Field Office in Whiteville City Hall. While not manned 24/7, the field office provides a place where deputies can go to do paperwork or, more importantly, meet with citizens regarding complaints of criminal activity or conduct follow-up interviews, without the citizen having to travel to the DCSO main office in the Courthouse.



Establishing the Field Office has increased law enforcement visibility in not only Whitesville but Knottsville as well. And, because of their increased presence, deputies have been able to build closer relationships with citizens in that area. This greater accessibility has also led to information that has enabled the opening of numerous investigations resulting in an improved quality of life for citizens in the area. 

Elsewhere in Daviess County, members of the Sheriff Office have participated in community clean ups, town hall meetings, church picnics, Christmas parades, public information/ learning sessions and mental health awareness. 

In addition to the in-person events and programs we attended and supported, the Sheriff’s Office has also expanded its online footprint because in the digital era many people get much of their information from social media and online sites. In response, and with our desire to increase transparency we have restructured our approach to social media by not only using it to update citizens on matters of interest—including criminal activity, ongoing investigations, traffic situations, and public events—but by also responding to citizens’ online questions via FB Messenger as well as through an online form submission portal on our new webpage.

Training

Since January, DCSO has been engaged in enhancing our skills via an internal training program by adding and adapting subjects to better equip our deputies with the knowledge and skills needed to serve the community. In addition to training on perishable skills such as firearms and tactics, this year we have included refresher training on subjects including report writing, investigative techniques, photographs, and crime scene preservation. To accomplish this goal, we have started a quarterly training cycle that rotates between investigation-related and skills-based topics. 

In addition to training our own deputies, this year we expanded training to other agencies in the area who may not have the same resources as DCSO. This year the emphasis was on active shooter response by a solo officer. We were able to do this because DCSO is unique among area law enforcement agencies in having four US Department of Homeland Security certified Active Shooter Threat Response Training instructors on staff. This was a great success and the response from the agencies who participated was highly positive. The training not only gave the attendees more tools and tactics to use in the event of an active shooter but helped solidify relationships between agencies and network development.

Judicial Security Unit

Providing security to the Judicial Center is a statutory responsibility of DCSO. Arming our Court Security Officers was a positive step forward in meeting that responsibility as was putting our CSOs in the same uniform as the rest of the department.

In 2023 in addition to serving our judges in the orderly administration of justice, our CSOs made 254 arrests, served 308 warrants, issued 271 citations and 3 summons, and made several traffic stops.

On October 22nd, the entire Daviess County Sheriff’s Office was saddened to learn that we had lost one of our own to an off-duty illness. Jim Rea served us as a Court Security Officer in the Judicial Security Unit from 2019-2023 and was instrumental in the successful implementation of several of the improvements made to our operations this year. He was a “go-to man” when you wanted something done and he has been sorely missed. In addition to his service to the DCSO, Jim was a military Veteran having served in both the US Army and the US Air Force and was a Veteran of both Vietnam and Desert Storm. Shortly after his passing, his CSO teammates installed a memorial for him at the security station in the Morton Holbrooke Judicial Center.