Bergen County Sheriff's Office - Divisions & Units
COURT SECURITY UNIT
The Court Security Unit provides for the overall security of the Bergen County Justice Center including criminal, civil, family and special section court judges and staff, as well as county employees, and the general public using the facility. Court Security Officers also maintain the personal safety of over one million people annually that enter and exit the Justice Center.
Utilization of magnetometers and x-ray equipment has raised the quality of security to a level never before achieved. The effective implementation of security detection, along with increased training, has resulted in the identification and seizure of numerous weapons, which were detected at the two public entrances to the Bergen County Justice Center. Such weapons include, but are not limited to, firearms, edged weapons and chemical agents. The safety of all persons conducting business in the Justice Center is our primary concern.
SPECIAL SERVICES UNIT
Officers assigned to the Special Services Unit transport prisoners who are in the care and custody of the Bergen County Sheriff. Officers assigned to this unit typically transport prisoners between facilities under the control of the Sheriff to federal, county and municipal courts, state prisons and correctional facilities, state and county juvenile detention centers, other county jails, municipal prisoner pickups, hospitals, diagnostic drug treatment centers and medical clinics. This unit operates interstate, as well as intrastate. Over 12,000 prisoners are transported annually.
In addition to their daily routines, the Special Services Unit provides back up security assistance to the Jail Complex, emergency assistance to the Bergen County Justice Center, assists in the execution of civil processing, and assists various law enforcement agencies with high-risk prisoner movements.
At the direction of the Office’s Chief, the assigned officers also provide assistance to municipal police departments with traffic and crowd control or any other required functions.
HOMELAND SECURITY / K-9 UNIT
The Homeland Security / K-9 Unit is responsible for conducting high visibility patrols around the jail and Justice Center in order to maintain a high level of security. The unit performs Justice Center and Jail searches for contraband, as well as, assisting local law enforcement agencies with evidence and narcotics detection, recovery of bodies, which may be under collapsed buildings, lost in wooded areas or buried in shallow graves or potential drowning victims.
OPERATIONS UNIT
The Operations Unit, the "nerve center" of the Bergen County Sheriff's Office, is responsible for the coordination of most departmental activities. Primary duties include responding to all radio, telephonic and data resources and managing telecommunications for the Sheriff's Office and the Bergen County Probation Department. The Operations Unit serves as a hub for records management. Operation's is staffed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
The Operations Unit also provides translation services, consisting of over 100 languages to any law enforcement agency through the AT&T language line twenty-four hours a day
BUREAU OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
The Bureau of Criminal Investigations is comprised of a Crime Scene Unit and a Detective's Unit.
The Crime Scene Unit’s personnel respond seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day to the scene of burglaries, robberies, assaults, arsons and homicides around the county. They work directly with local law enforcement, collecting forensic evidence of a crime and often testifying in court as experts during criminal prosecutions.
The Sheriff’s Detective Unit is a rapid and reliable source of manpower, information and technical assistance to every law enforcement agency in Bergen County and the surrounding region. Sheriff's Detectives are routinely assigned to assist local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in numerous investigative areas including fugitive apprehension, missing persons cases, Internal Affairs investigations, monitoring gang activity and conducting ‘Next of Kin’ background investigations for the Surrogate Court Judge.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY UNIT
The Information Technology Unit serves as the hub for all technology employed by the Sheriff's Office. The unit designs, purchases and maintains all department computer systems and has responsibility for Computer Aided Dispatch and Records Management Systems software
COMMUNITY OUTREACH UNIT
The Community Outreach Unit strives to create and preserve a feeling of safety and security within our communities. The Unit establishes and maintains a true partnership with all our citizens in order to provide the most responsive, highest quality law enforcement service possible. The Unit makes every effort to initiate and maintain lasting partnerships with the community; treat citizens with dignity, respect, fairness, and compassion; utilize and maintain high standards of professionalism, integrity and ethics as well as foster a productive working relationship with other law enforcement agencies.
The Community Outreach Unit strives to understand and meet the needs of our citizens by offering formal programs targeting alcohol and drug abuse, senior citizen safety, child safety, school violence and proactive DWI prevention programs for high school students, civic groups and law enforcement agencies to provide the community with information and services which contribute to making Bergen County a safe place to live.
The Community Outreach Unit’s function is shared between all divisions of the Sheriff’s Office in order to increase positive interaction between our officers and county residences.
Contact our Community Outreach office at 201-336-3540. For a complete listing of programs offered by the Community Outreach Unit click here.
CORRECTIONS DIVISION
The Corrections Division consists of 322 County Corrections Officers and represent the largest compliment of law enforcement officers under the Sheriff’s Command. Tasked with maintaining order in the Bergen County Jail, these officers are responsible for feeding, housing and caring for each of the Jail’s 1,100 inmates.
The Bergen County Jail is a vital hub in the correctional and judicial systems, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Bergen’s dedicated members of the Sheriff’s Correction Division are a vital part of that effort, working around the clock to carry out their mission and keep the county’s residents safe.
SHERIFF'S EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM
The Sheriff's Emergency Response Team (SERT) was created to function as a specialized emergency resource with personnel trained to respond to diverse situations that may arise within or outside an institutional setting. .
RAPID DEPLOYMENT FORCE
The Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) is a component of The Bergen County Police Chiefs Association Mutual Aid Plan. Select officers of the Bergen County Sheriff's Office have been assigned to the control and custody detail of RDF. Members of these units receive intensive, specialized training.
SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUP
The Special Operations Group serves as the Sheriff's high-risk operations team. The unit is comprised of Sergeants and additional officers under the command of the Office’s Chief. The Special Operations Group is responsible for all high-risk preplanned operations requiring heavy weapons and threat assessments. Unit members may be activated to conduct high-risk prisoner transports, warrant services or to neutralize an active shooter at the Justice Complex or other location.
All members of the Special Operations Group are professionally trained and have attended either the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s S.W.A.T. School or the National Tactical Officers Association S.W.A.T. School.