Bureau of Law Enforcement
The duties which come under the auspices of the Bureau of Law Enforcement are as extensive as they are varied. For example, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office provides courthouse security, transports inmates admitted or sentenced to other county or state institutions, serves process papers and domestic violence temporary restraining orders, and handles foreclosures.
Sheriff’s officers have full police powers and in addition to the foregoing examples, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office operates a number of specialized units to support and augment municipal, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. These include a crime scene unit, forensic and photo labs, K-9 unit, bomb squad, warrant unit and an emergency response team which handles everything from hostage situations to search and rescue work.
Divisions
Administration Division
As its name indicates, the division oversees the day-to-day administrative operations of the bureau. This includes the development of all rules, regulations and policies, management of the computer system, agency training, internal affairs and coordination of supplemental services to outside agencies. Administration also handles Community Programs and the Sheriff’s National Accreditation.
Legal Services Division
The Legal Services Division is responsible for the service and enforcement of legal documents. This includes everything from Summons & Complaints to writs and subpoenas.
This division is also involved with sales of impounded/abandoned vehicles, evictions, wage claims, levies and sheriff’s sales.
Protective Services Division
The Protective Services Division’s primary responsibility is for courthouse security to ensure the safety of all employees, visitors and prisoners in and about the courthouse complex. In addition, officers assigned to this division provide transportation of prisoners from municipal police departments to the county correctional facility and county inmates sentenced to state prison.
Special Services Division
The Special Services Division is comprised of the following four units:
Crime Scene Investigation
Forensic/Photo Labs
This unit is multifaceted and provides expert personnel for a range of investigative procedures including crime scene processing, evidence collection and preservation, and fingerprint analysis.
The forensic and photo labs provide evidence processing for local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies operating within Morris County. Some of the many services it provides include video enhancement and duplicating, fingerprint development and comparison, ballistics, tool mark comparison, and serial number restoration.
Emergency Services
K-9 Unit/Bomb Squad
This unit is a specialized team of sheriff’s officers who use highly trained dogs to perform services such as search and rescue operations, narcotics and arson detection and fugitive tracking. Working in tandem with the bomb squad, this unit also responds to explosive emergencies for purposes of bomb detection and disposal.
Warrants
Officers apprehend individuals who have outstanding criminal, non-support, violation of probation and SLAP warrants issued by Superior Court as well as warrants received from other law enforcement agencies.
Evidence
This unit stores and maintains all evidence collected by the Sheriff’s Office as well as evidence submitted by outside agencies. It also manages the safe, “green” destruction of disposed prescription drugs via the Prescription Drug Drop Box Program.