The Wake County Sheriff’s Office is in Raleigh, N.C., serving more than 1,000,000 residents in 12 municipalities and unincorporated areas. Wake County, which is the capital county of the State of North Carolina, is the largest county.
Our agency employs approximately 1,000 highly qualified, professional men and women, sworn officers and civilians, who work tirelessly around the clock on behalf of its residents.
Every day the Wake County Sheriff’s Office operates in cooperation with 12 local law enforcement agencies, as well as state and federal partners, to bring offenders to justice by serving and processing arrest warrants.
Administrative Division
The Administrative Division is responsible for providing a wide range of support services for the Sheriff’s Office to operate effectively on a day-to-day basis. This includes functions such as issuing Pistol Permits, Custody of Evidence, Recruiting, Sex Offender Registry, School Resource and others.
Judicial Services
The Judicial Services Division is tasked with protecting the Wake County Justice Center and Courthouse, which houses our courtrooms and government offices. It is our responsibility to protect judges, courtroom participants and all citizens who frequent both properties.
This division also works to process judicial orders pertaining to civil issues, such as domestic cases. This group works to ensure that court papers are properly issued and that court cases are processed efficiently.
The service of civil process is a core function that falls inherently on the elected sheriff and a primary function of many sheriff’s offices nationwide. Civil Processes in North Carolina are served and returned according to North Carolina General Statutes.
The Judicial Services Division also houses the Warrant unit, responsible for all criminal process to include Governor’s warrants and child support warrants. This division also works to process judicial orders pertaining to civil/criminal summons, restraining orders, warrant services, civil executions and evictions. This group works to ensure that court processes are properly served/carried out and that court cases are processed efficiently.
In addition, this division has a Victim Services and Domestic Violence unit, responsible for all domestic-related restraining orders and subsequent violations, as well as providing available services to victims.
The WCSO’s Judicial Transport Unit is primarily used for the movement of inmates and transfer of those experiencing mental illness.
Patrol
Deputies assigned to the Patrol Division are the first on the scene at every emergency call. From directing traffic at a wreck scene to responding to a serious crime to responding to disasters, our deputies are trained to handle any emergency.
Our patrol also has a boat team that responds to emergencies at Falls Lake and Harris Lake, to ensure that boaters are following all safety regulations.
Criminal Investigative Division
Our Criminal Investigative Division are our detectives. They are called in to investigate crimes ranging from burglaries to homicides. After our patrol deputies respond to the initial call, investigators are called to the scene or follow up on cases generated by the patrol division. Upon completion of an investigation, deputies begin their work to process a case that will be prepared to hand over to the district attorney’s office.
Homeland Security and Special Operations
Homeland Security and Special Operations consists of the Special Response Team, K-9 Unit, Drugs and Vice, Impact Team, Criminal Analysis and Apprehension Team, Crash Reduction Unit, Warrant Unit, Diverse Operations, and Federal Task Force Officers.
The Special Response Team is a highly trained unit that responds to emergencies ranging from barricaded subjects to serving "high risk" warrants on dangerous subjects.
The K-9 team consists of deputies trained to respond to help find lost children or adults, as well as searching for drugs and weapons at crime scenes where these items are difficult to find with the human eye.
911 Communications
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center provides emergency communication services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The communicators are the first people citizens hear when they dial 9-1-1 for assistance and communicate with the public, co-workers and other law enforcement agencies, while maintaining records/files generated from the state and federal agencies.
Detention
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office Detention Division manages two detention facilities, the only such facilities that house adult detainees in Wake County. The Wake County Detention Center is located at 3301 Hammond Road, approximately halfway between the cities of Raleigh and Garner. The second facility is located at the John H. Baker Jr. Public Safety Center, at 330 S. Salisbury St. in downtown Raleigh.
Training
Training and Staff Development provides initial and ongoing training for all employees of the Wake County Sheriff's Office. The Training division is accredited through the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.