Kent County Sheriff's Office

The Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county and has a range of duties that include criminal investigations, traffic enforcement, and operation of the jail, including the safekeeping of inmates and operation of the jail commissary. The Sheriff also provides security for the courthouse, including the county and district courts, assists with service of subpoena and other process and accepts bail for prisoners in his custody. In a county without a Bail Bond Board, the Sheriff sets bail bond policy for the county. Finally, the Sheriff may conduct sales of forfeited property, property being sold at auction for failure to pay property taxes and property sold to satisfy judgments in civil cases.

As with all elected officials, the Sheriff has ultimate authority over the operations of the office, including the authority to hire and fire personnel and direct their daily activities. The Sheriff also has authority to determine how to use all other resources allocated to the office during the budget process.

The Kent County Sheriff's Office is currently authorized three full-time commissioned officers, including the Sheriff. We also utilize 4 Reserve Deputies who are fully licensed through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education. These Reserve Deputies perform the same tasks as our full-time deputies.

Our Communication Center is staffed with 7 employees whose job includes answering 911 calls and dispatching deputies to calls for service. The Kent County Sheriff's Office began 24-hour dispatching during the 2007 calendar year. Communication Officers also dispatch for the Kent County Volunteer Fire Department, the Kent County Emergency Medical Services, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Wildlife.

The Sheriff's Office has recently moved into a new 2400 square foot building just south of the Kent County Courthouse. This new office provides more room for the employees of the Sheriff's Office and includes a booking room, interview room and communications room which houses our network servers, radios and 911 equipment.