Court Services Unit

General

The Court Services Unit is a branch of the Portage County Sheriff's Office's Support Services. It consists of:

• Court Services Sergeant
• Court Officers (2)
• Transport and Civil Process Officers (2)
• Community Resource Officer

Courthouse Security responsibilities are both considerable and important, and at the same time require a strong partnership with the courts. Courthouse security encompasses deterrence, detection, and prevention.

The Court Services Sergeant is assigned the security of the courthouse. This is done by coordinating with Court Officers, Transport Officers, Community Resource officers, and court bailiffs to accomplish this task.

Court Officers are assigned the task of transporting prisoners from the court holding area to their court hearings. This is done as safely and securely as possible for both the prisoner and the courthouse employees and visitors. Court officers also act as liaisons between the courts and the jail, ensuring the prisoners are transported and present on time for scheduled hearings.

Court officers also process the citations that are written by Portage County Sheriff's Office. The Court officers also handle pre-trial conferences with offenders to try and resolve any issues they may have. Portage County began this process so that the offenders would not have to appear in court on a later date.

Portage County has two deputies assigned as Transport and Civil Process Officers. Their job is to safely and securely transport prisoners throughout the state for a variety of reasons including mental health commitments, warrant pick-ups, writ pick-ups, writ returns, and court commitments. These officers also assist the court officers by taking inmates from the jail to the courtrooms and then returning them, as well as general courthouse security functions.

The Community Resource Officer is responsible for educational programs in the schools that reside in the county excluding schools that reside in the City of Stevens Point and Village of Plover. The Stevens Point Police Department and Plover Police Department have safety officers that cover these jurisdictions. The Community Resource Officer also assists the Transport and Court Officers as needed. The Community Resource Officer conducts presentations for the public on a variety of safety and security topics.