The
Clay County Sheriff's office is responsible for keeping the peace in Clay
County, South Dakota. Clay County covers
approximately 414 square miles and has
approximately 800 miles of roads and highways. Clay County has 3 incorporated
communities, Vermillion, Wakonda, and Irene and two unincorporated communities,
Burbank and Meckling. Vermillion and Irene operate their own police departments
and Wakonda contracts with the Clay County Sheriff for law enforcement services.
The Sheriff is ultimately responsible for the safety and security of all
citizens in Clay County.
As
is often the case with the Office of Sheriff, typical duties and
responsibilities include the operation of the County Jail, service of warrants
and the apprehension and extradition of fugitives, and service of civil process
which includes collecting judgments from debtors and serving legal process.
Additional duties include the
responsibility for the security of the county courthouse including courtroom
security. The sheriff and deputies often transport 
inmates
to and from court hearings, doctor visits, to the Clay County Jail from other
jurisdictions, and to the South Dakota State Penitentiary when the court's
sentence calls for that. Additionally, the sheriff and deputies will perform
more common law enforcement functions such as responding to calls for assistance
such as reports of crimes, disturbances, motor vehicle accidents, and medical
emergencies. The sheriff and deputies investigate all crimes reported to the
Sheriff's Office.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office teaches D.A.R.E to the fifth grade students in Clay County schools including those in Vermillion and Wakonda. Furthermore, the Sheriff provides a Deputy Sheriff with a full time assignment to work in the Vermillion and Wakonda schools. The Sheriff's Office also provides programs such as training provided to alcohol license holders to instruct alcohol sellers in methods of ensuring that minors are not allowed to purchase alcohol. This training is called Techniques of Alcohol Management (TAM). Such interaction with students and training provided to the public such as TAM fits well with the Sheriff's Office philosophy of a goal toward community oriented policing and problem solving as a method of effective law enforcement.
The staff of the Clay County Sheriff's Office consists of the Sheriff and six deputies, two part time administrative assistants, three full time jailers and three part time jailers.
The Clay County Sheriff welcomes comments and concerns regarding the safety of the citizens of Clay County and the services provided to those citizens by the Sheriff's Office.