The Office of Sheriff is a constitutional office with over 30 statutory duties. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office is led by the elected Sheriff, the chief law enforcement officer of the county, who serves the community in four-year terms. Statutory duties of the Office of Sheriff include, but are not limited to: keeping the peace, enforcing state and county laws, managing the Boulder County Jail, transporting prisoners, coordinating emergency search-and-rescue events, serving civil process and conducting evictions, performing fire warden duties as well as coordinating wildland fire suppression efforts, providing County Courthouse security, issuing concealed handgun permits, and providing victim assistance through the Community Assistance Program. Public safety services are provided to satisfy statutory requirements and the needs of the communities. Per statute, Sheriff’s Office staff provide direct service to the unincorporated areas of Boulder County, and by contract to the local municipalities of Lyons, Nederland, and Superior.

The Sheriff’s Office works cooperatively with other public safety agencies in Boulder County to provide a high level of service and safety. It oversees the Boulder County Communications Center to provide law, fire, and medical dispatch as well as answering both 9-1-1 and non-emergency calls for unincorporated Boulder County, Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, Lyons, Nederland, Superior, and Ward.

Sheriff Curtis Johnson is assisted by an executive team consisting of Undersheriff Carey Weinheimer, Jail Division; Chief Jeff Goetz, Operations Division; Chief Jim Chamberlin, Support Services Division; Chief Brian Zierlein; and Director Mike Chard, who oversees the City of Boulder and Boulder County Office of Disaster Management. The approximately 400 employees who work at the Sheriff’s Office consistently uphold the mission and values of the Sheriff’s Office in the day-to-day operations of the following divisions: Administration, Jail, Operations, Support Services, and the City of Boulder and Boulder County Office of Disaster Management.

Mission Statement

We provide efficient and effective public safety services to the residents and visitors of Boulder County. We deliver these services with character, competence, and open communication.

Department Values

• We value human life.
• We value the Constitutions of the United States and of the State of Colorado.
• We value the system of laws that govern us.
• We value the communities we serve. We believe the purpose of our organization is to serve our communities, keep the peace, keep them safe, and work with them to solve problems.
• We value the person. We value the diversity among all individuals. We will treat everyone with courtesy, respect and dignity.
• We value organizational excellence. We value an environment in which individuals strive as a team for superior professional performance focused on achieving our organizational mission and goals.
• We value the strength of personal character in our employees. We value open, honest communicators who display high moral and ethical conduct, integrity, adaptability and sound judgement.

Administration Division

The Administration Division manages functions that cross division lines such as finance, personnel, training, fleet, policy and procedure review, as well as internal investigations.

Jail Division

As part of the mission statement that every inmate will leave the Boulder County Jail in better condition than they entered, the jail offers various programs designed to help inmates. These include counseling, religious programs, and even yoga. The Boulder County Jail Programs Staff is committed to the men and women of our community who are challenged with Criminogenic Thinking, Mental Health, and Substance Use Disorder. Our mission is to assist in identifying the strength and determination each individual holds, with a vision and plan to work towards re-entry back into our community.

Alternative Sentencing

This unit oversees residential and non-residential alternative jail sentences, which allows participants to stay at home and report daily to a Day Reporting Center (DRC), or participate in Work Release if they meet each selection criteria. The Alternative Sentencing program provides close supervision, case management, and treatment in a manner that keeps offenders employed.

Office of Disaster Management (ODM)

Formerly the Boulder Office of Emergency Management, the ODM team plans, coordinates and supports a wide range of activities that help the City of Boulder and Boulder County departments and communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and large-scale emergencies, while also reducing vulnerabilities posed by hazards across the county. They build positive relationships with disaster management and resiliency partners across the county, region, state, and nation to enhance the resiliency of our local communities. This team engages with partners to improve operations through innovation. The Emergency Operations Center is a facility, as well as a virtual operation, where designated personnel assemble during emergencies and disasters to coordinate communications, provide resource mobilization and support, manage information, develop situational awareness to maintain a common operating picture, assist policy group members, support event management planning, provide operational support and coordination, and assist with continuity of government activities. The ODM coordinates countywide emergency siren testing and serves as the administrator of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning Collaboration Operations Group. This group is comprised of 911 Center Directors and public safety professionals, and oversees the use of Public Alert and Warning Systems. The ODM is responsible for the county’s Emergency Operations Plan, Boulder County’s Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, and they publish an Emergency Preparedness Guide tailored to the types of hazards facing Boulder County communities.

Operations Division

This component of the Sheriff’s Office encompasses work groups the public is most likely to have contact with: patrol, detectives, animal control, and fire crew. The Operations Division is staffed by POST (Peace Officers' Standards and Training) -certified deputies, other sworn staff, and non-sworn staff. The Operations Division is responsible for a variety of other services that include:

• Patrol service across 740 square miles
• Animal control services
• Emergency search and rescue coordination
• Wildland fire response coordination
• Open Burn permitting

  • Investigations

• General Investigations
• Drug Task Force
• Computer Forensics Lab
  • Property and evidence management
  • Civil process service
  • Evictions
  • Special event permit assessment
  • Extra duty staffing
  • Our Community Assistance Program
• Restorative Justice
• Victim advocate services

Specialty collateral assignments of Operations Division personnel include the Canine Unit, the Boulder County Bomb Squad, and the SWAT Team.

Support Services Division

This division is responsible for providing a variety of services to community members and Sheriff’s Office personnel. The division consists of three sections: Communications, Records, and Sheriff’s Computer Support.

Boulder County Communications (BCC)

The BCC is a primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) in Boulder County. The BCC provides 24/7 law, fire, and medical dispatch as well as answering both 9-1-1 and non-emergency calls for a considerable amount of Boulder County. This area includes unincorporated Boulder County, Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, Lyons, Nederland, Superior, and Ward. Our team provides primary dispatch services to six law enforcement agencies and 26 different fire, EMS and rescue organizations.

Records Section

Manages all internal records of official action for the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and fields all records requests. This team also manages all sex offender registrants in unincorporated Boulder County, and all concealed handgun permits for Boulder County residents.

Sheriff's Computer Support (SCS)

Assists in providing data processing systems and services to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. The SCS team supports the entire Sheriff’s Office with the Records Management System (RMS), and the Jail Management System (JMS). In early 2022, the SCS team coordinated the rollout of a new RMS and JMS platform, the culmination of a multi-year project. The SCS team oversees the computers for all Sheriff’s Office staff. This team also maintains the Mobile Data Computers (MDCs) used by patrol deputies in the field.

Communications Radio Shop

The BCSO Communications Radio Shop is responsible for overall radio system maintenance including 12 dispatch radio consoles, radio infrastructure at 18 locations in Boulder County, direct maintenance and programming of over 300 BCSO portable and 130 BCSO mobile radios, and programming services for Lafayette and Louisville Police department radios. The radio shop also coordinates radio channel usage and knowledge base for all BCCC dispatched agencies.

Program Highlights:

Co-Responder Project

Boulder County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Community Services co-responders continue to meet people in crisis, and connect them with appropriate resources.

Drug Take-Back Days & Medication Drop Box

Offering a safe place to dispose of medications is important to community members. The take back events range from 230 – 630 pounds of unwanted medications removed from area homes, and community members regularly fill the medication drop box located at the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters.

Restoring Individuals Safely and Effectively – RISE Unit

The RISE Program is a jail-based competency restoration program established through a collaboration between the Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health (OBH), Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, and Correct Care Recovery Solutions. The OBH funds the RISE Unit at the Boulder County Jail, and they subcontract with Well Path Solutions who oversee the treatment administered to RISE patients. Restoring persons to competency helps them move through the justice system.

Special Investigations

The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office works closely with the community as well as local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to provide education and investigative resources for narcotic-related public safety concerns. Detectives with advanced digital forensics training and certifications work in collaboration with partner agency subject matter experts to investigate criminal acts and hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.

Offender Management Program

In 2018, Boulder County voters approved a measure to extend an expiring county sales tax for five years and generate money to build an alternative sentencing facility, as well as to perform some extensive jail remodeling and to build additions to the old jail. The tax will generate approximately $73.3 million from 2020-2024 into the Offender Management Fund. In 2020, construction of an administration building was completed at the Boulder County Jail. Significant repairs to the jail are ongoing. Remodel and expansion of the old jail courtroom is on the horizon. Once completed, the courtroom expansion will provide the extra capacity necessary for people making first appearances, their family, and other community members. The courtroom construction is slated for a late spring or summer 2022 completion. Design is ongoing for a new, separate facility specifically intended to serve the community needs for alternative sentencing. The site review process has begun with the City of Boulder for the new facility.

Emergency Preparedness

The Sheriff, the ODM Director, and county leadership are committed to meeting the future needs of Boulder County communities by investing in long-term planning for an expanded Emergency Operations Center (EOC). An expanded EOC will offer improved functionality that supports Boulder County’s Best in Public Service mission. An initial design consultation was completed in 2021, and the next phase continued in 2022.

Training Enhancements

Training for new deputies was revised to provide more experiential learning opportunities: feedback from the first class was favorable. A mini-academy for freshly promoted sergeants offers guidance and training for new supervisors. A similar new commander training is under development. These new trainings are the embodiment of the Sheriff’s Office commitment to retain our team members by investing in the development of the leadership team. Empowering our team members to achieve and develop in their public safety career supports the organization’s mission and values.

Creative Recruiting

Staffing constraints continue to hinder in-person attendance of recruiting events. Creative approaches such as a recruiting video to play in rotation at area movie theaters, and building a LinkedIn following, will extend the recruiting reach despite staffing challenges.