DEPARTMENT INFORMATION

The Butte County Sheriff's Department works hard to serve and protect the residents and visitors of Butte County, providing vigorous, ethical, efficient law enforcement and increasing public awareness of personal safety and security measures.

It is a goal of the BCSD to provide humane custody and care for inmates housed within the Butte County Jail as well.  The Sheriff's Office encourages employee professionalism through improved communication and continuous and productive training.

The Butte County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement services to the unincorporated areas throughout the county as well as some incorporated cities with which they are contracted. They hold primary jurisdiction over facilities that are operated by the County, like local parks, marinas and government buildings. The Sheriffs also provide marshal services for the Superior court of Butte County.

The Butte County Jail is under the supervision of the Sheriff's Office as well. They also provide laboratories and academy training to smaller law enforcement agencies throughout the county.

UNITS AND DIVISIONS

The Department provides patrol services, traffic enforcement, and investigative services. In addition, the Department has its own Bomb Squad and SWAT Team.

Bomb Squad

The Butte County Bomb Squad is a regional, inter-agency response team. Participating agencies are Butte County Sheriff's Department, Chico Police Department, and California State University- Chico State Police Department.

The Bomb Squad is a four member team run by the BCSD. It is recognized by the FBI as one of the nearly 471 accredited bomb squads in the US. Each member has graduated from the Hazardous Devices School at the US Army base in Huntsville, AL.  They respond to any calls related to explosives in the 5 surrounding county regions. The team also provides education for law enforcement personnel and public groups in the area.

SWAT

The Butte County Sheriff's SWAT Team is a level II tactical team. They are dedicated to protecting the citizens of Butte County safe and to the preservation of life.

SWAT has a 13-man entry team. Four of them are cross-trained as snipers and provide crucial intelligence, long range cover for the entry team, as well as effecting long distance shots to save hostages.

Hostage Negotiations Team members are trained to alleviate critical incidents with peaceful resolution of hostile situations through negotiations.

S.T.A.R.S. Program

Since the program started in 1993, there are 130 seniors dedicated to serving their communities.
The senior volunteers work closely with law enforcement officers in a variety of non-hazardous activities in order to help make their communities a safer place to work, live and play.  They patrol the areas of Oroville, Chico, Magalia, and Gridley.