The Fresno County Sheriff Court Services Unit is one of the largest commands within the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. 124 Sheriff personnel (sworn and professional staff) provide security inside criminal courtrooms as well as throughout all five Courthouses.

The Fresno courthouses consist of the Main Courthouse, Traffic, B.F. Sisk, North Annex and Juvenile Justice Center. 

Deputies assigned to the unit have a variety of responsibilities in providing security to court which include but are not limited to the following:

Courtroom Deputies announce the entrance of the judges into courtrooms, inform people of the courtroom rules and enforce the rules, maintain order in the room, may remove or arrest people who do not cooperate. Community Services Officers (CSO’s) also provide service in our Civil Courtrooms.

Deputies and CSO's that work in the front lobby screening maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone entering the building. As a matter of safety for all court users, members of the public must enter through a weapons screening station before entering any of the court facilities.  Cooperation is the key to maintain a safe and secure atmosphere for everyone using court facilities.

The Business office is responsible for the coordination of all activities related to the business and fiscal functions of the Sheriff's Office. Major areas of responsibility include: budget preparation and control; accounting; billing and collection of fees; fiscal control of contracts; facilities management; preparation of financial statements and statistical reports; monitoring payroll and personnel transactions; and completing special projects.

The travel section processes travel requests for training, seminars, and conferences. Various documents are prepared to assure payment of travel advances and reimbursements. Receipts are collected for hotels, meals, and car rentals. Checks are issued and money is collected in accordance with County travel policies.

The accounts receivable section performs the Sheriff's Office's billing and collection for contracted Law Enforcement services. Includes contact with departmental staff, state and federal agencies, all other local area law enforcement agencies, Fresno County School districts, and other county departments.

The Inmate Welfare section processes all incoming and outgoing inmate cash and unclaimed money funds, and processes purchase orders, supply orders and contracts for inmate supplies and services. They are held accountable for the Prisoner Trust Fund, Prisoner Unclaimed Fund and the Inmate Welfare Fund.

The Business Office also has the daily accountability for the balancing and depositing of all inmate mail money that is processed by the Jail Mail Staff Office located at the Main Detention Facility and processing all In Custody and Out of custody inmate money requests. 

Receiving and Supply section is manned by our diligent stock clerk. He is responsible for ordering and distributing most of the supplies that are used by our Law Enforcement and Civilian employees.

Sheriff Fleet Service's primary goal is to provide a safe and efficient operation for our personnel at a cost savings to the tax payers of Fresno County. Sheriff Fleet Service's handle all fleet related functions such as the maintenance and repairs of our existing equipment which is performed in house with Sheriff's office personnel, or through preexisting competitively bided contracts with numerous venders in Fresno County.

In 2003, the Sheriff's Fleet operation was transferred from under administration and management of the County's General Services Division to the Sheriff's Office. In addition to assuming complete management responsibilities of our fleet, the Take Home Patrol Vehicle Program was implemented as a pilot program. The benefit of control over our fleet has been cost containment, increase duty life of fixed asset equipment, improved response capabilities, enhanced utilization of personnel and improved customer service to the residence of Fresno County. Our fleet operation was highlighted by an investigative report prepared by the Fresno County Grand Jury in 2010/2011. The report highlighted our success through the years in meeting our original goals and objectives that were identified in 2003 when the fleet operation became our responsibility.

Sheriff Fleet Service's other responsibilities include but are not limited to product testing, vehicle modifications, the salvaging of decommissioned vehicles that have been wrecked beyond repair or have been evaluated by our staff to be unsafe to operate in our fleet due to age, mileage or other associated factors, and the maintenance of all fleet related documents. Our fleet consists of 500 plus pieces of equipment which include numerous make and models of vehicles, off road motorcycles, ATV's, prisoner transport vans and bus, trucks, trailers, four-wheel drives, and miscellaneous vehicles used for specialized details such as E.O.D., S.W.AT., Dive, K-9, and Search and Rescue functions. Sheriff's fleet vehicles traveled approximately 6.1 million miles last fiscal year.

Challenges for the future include choosing a patrol vehicle for our future needs, rising fuel and parts cost, and shrinking budgets for vehicle replacements, and maintenance and repairs.

The Human Resources Unit has several responsibilities. These include processing new applicants for all jobs within the Fresno County Sheriff's Office and coordinating transfers, terminations, and retirements. This unit is also is the place where permanent personnel records as well as employee medical files are kept.

All risk management functions also are coordinated through the human resources unit. This includes claims for damages, lawsuits, workers compensation claims, as well as other legal issues.

In 2002 the Human Resources Unit processed more than 450 applications and 194 actual new hires. The job of this unit does not stop at hiring; it is also responsible for coordinating the promotional process as well as the separation of employees. In 2012, there were 18 deputy and correctional promotions and 72 separations. Reasons for the separations include retirements, resignations, terminations, and, unfortunately, the deaths of office members.

All of this is done using a staff of one Lieutenant, three office assistants, and one Personnel Technician.

The Internal Affairs Bureau is responsible for ensuring the integrity of the department, which is maintained through an internal system where objectivity, fairness and justice are assured by impartial investigation and review of all allegations of member misconduct and accusations against the department.

The activities of the Internal Affairs Bureau include: Recording, registering and controlling the investigation of complaints against members; supervising and controlling the investigation of alleged or suspected misconduct within the department; maintaining the confidentiality of Internal Affairs investigations and records; and forwarding the findings to the appropriate chain of command. 

As Sheriff of Fresno County it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Sheriff’s Office web site. This site is in furtherance of our ongoing effort to work with our communities to keep Fresno County safe by providing up to date information and access to you, the public we serve. 

The men and women of the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office are dedicated to providing the finest quality law enforcement and correctional services.