The Starke County Sheriff’s Office released its 2023 Annual Report on its Facebook page.
The following information was provided:
The number of calls for service for 2023 totaled 10,674. In comparison to 2022, deputies responded to 10,066 calls. Deputies conducted 1,678 traffic stops, 175 warrant checks, 277 business checks, and 204 extra patrol requests.
Incidents generating a case report totaled 1,500 in 2023 compared to 1,214 in 2022.
Major cases investigated in 2023 totaled 207. The detective bureau also had 25 outside agency assists in 2023.
In 2023, a total of 523 subjects were arrested by deputies, in comparison of 433 in 2022.
A total of 636 crashes were investigated in 2023. 99 of which were hit and run, 65 crashes resulted in personal injury, and 258 were car vs deer.
Sheriff Rosa stated, “I am very pleased with the hard work of our deputies. We are receiving a high level of productivity with the men and women that serve our community. Our dispatch works diligently at relaying information to the deputies for a quick and safe response. Our corrections staff has worked with our training coordinator in revitalizing policy, procedure, and training to provide adequate safety to the offenders as well as our facility, while mitigating liability to the county and our partners. There is no question that every member of our team works hard.”
Sheriff Rosa recently hosted an area multi-jurisdictional drug meeting. This networking opportunity resulted in partnerships developing and cases have been resolved. Sheriff Rosa believes it is paramount to work closely with other agencies and maximize deputy activity to combat the opioid crisis. Flock cameras were added and aided in the investigation and subsequent charging of a dealing in methamphetamine case as well as assisting in locating several missing persons cases.
2023 Community events included, two Coffee with a Cop events, Trunk or Treat, Family Fun Day, OD Schools public safety day, instructed students at KHS Criminal Justice Class, Hosted KHS Criminal Justice Class, assisting with a threat assessment at St Peters Lutheran School, and hosting a Women’s Gun Safety class.
The Starke County Sheriff’s Office 911 Communication Center had a total of 21,207 calls for service entered. 16,572 were law enforcement, 2,929 were EMS, 1,707 were Fire, and 4,451 were 911 calls. Sheriff Jack Rosa said, “I am thoroughly impressed by the professionalism and composure displayed by our dispatchers on a daily basis. I know that our dispatchers often deal with chaos. However, their professionalism and training aid in saving lives on a daily basis. Our dispatchers are truly invaluable assets of our team.”
The Starke County Justice Center had an intake total of 778 with an average daily population of 96. Offenders average time in custody was 72 days for Felony arrests and 46 days for Misdemeanor arrests. During 2020, the Justice Center and Starke Court Services developed and implemented necessary policies (Cite and Release) to limit the number of intakes for low/moderate risk offenders in order to maintain population levels and combat overcrowding.
2024 has kicked off to a great start and we look forward to the rest of the year. A few exciting announcements of things to come: Riding with the Sheriff, Town Hall meeting, Family Fun Day, F.A.R.M. events, a federal drug partnership, and the development and implementation of the Strategic Response Team. We are thankful for our partnerships with Oregon Davis, St Peters Lutheran, and North Judson Schools. We look forward to continuing to serve the community and collaborating with our great partners.