| Patrol |
The Patrol section
is considered the backbone of the Nolan County Sheriff's
Office and is the most visible.
Under the command of Chief Deputy
and Patrol Sergeant
, the responsibility of this section is to maintain a
safe and orderly environment for citizens and visitors
alike, and charged with the coverage of approximately
914 square miles of rural county area including over 1,000
linear miles of improved county roads, lakes, residences
and businesses located outside the incorporated city limits
of Sweetwater and Roscoe.
In addition to these duties, deputies provide patrols,
emergency response, traffic enforcement, drug interdiction,
courthouse security, civil process service, criminal investigations
and warrant executions. Deputies also handle county jail
inmate transports to and from the court system or facilities
operated by the State or other counties; they routinely
handle juvenile and mental health transports to and from
various facilities throughout the State and Region and
during a critical situation in the jail, they provide
additional manpower or security.
For this array of reasons, the deputies must have in-depth
knowledge of the law and must be well-rounded law enforcement
officers in order to provide the best service possible.
Deputies of the patrol section respond to an average of
4,000 requests for service each year with an average response
time of about 16 minutes and an average time on the call
of about 44 minutes. When assistance is requested, the
deputy responding will most likely be a member of the
patrol section.
Fleet Vehicle Program
The Sheriff's Office maintains a program, commonly referred
to as a "take home fleet vehicle program", whereby
each deputy is assigned a distinctly marked patrol unit.
This program has been highly successful in the reduction
of overall vehicle maintenance costs. Sheriff's patrol
vehicles are visible throughout the Nolan County communities
where the deputies reside. The program allows rapid deployment
of deputies during man made or natural emergencies, thereby
increasing the Sheriff's patrol presence in the county.
Like most police agencies throughout the county, Sheriff's Office vehicles were ordered painted in white clear-coat from the factory. The Department had used the white paint scheme since approximately 1980 with minimal modifications. Today, all patrol vehicles are ordered in a tan clear-coat finish and are striped with green and gold reflective decals and 5-star badges. The vehicles also display "Nolan County Sheriff", and vehicle numbers (used to identify all patrol vehicles operated by the county) on each vehicle. |
