About The Sheriff's Office

Winnebago County is located in north central Iowa, at the border of Iowa and Minnesota. Major highways in Winnebago County include US Highway 69 (north-south) and Iowa Highway 9 (east-west). The County Seat is located in Forest City.

Winnebago County is a rural county with a farming heritage. The population of Winnebago County holds generally at between 11,000 and 12,000 people. Winnebago County also has several nationally known industries, which play important roles within our communities.

The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office includes the Sheriff and five full time Deputy Sheriff's, three full time Jailers, and several part-time Jailers and a full-time Sheriff's Secretary. The Sheriff's Office is currently involved in state and federal intelligence organizations and is part of the North Iowa Narcotics Task Force. The Sheriff's Office also includes a Reserve Office Program. The Sheriff's Office is responsible for police protection throughout the county, including several incorporated cities.

The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office is responsible for providing law enforcement services to all of Winnebago County. The Sheriff's Office is devoted to making Winnebago County a safe and trouble free community where the citizens can go about their daily lives free from worry of crime. Your support is vital to the Sheriff's efforts to prevent and solve crimes.

Your Sheriff's Office performs many different and diverse functions. From providing law enforcement services, to registering and overseeing sex offenders, the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office serves you in many ways. For the most part these services are concentrated in areas that do not have their own police department. When requested, Deputies do assist other agencies and will conduct investigations in other jurisdictions in the county as required. The Winnebago County Sheriff's Office is also responsible for Courthouse security.

By Iowa law, the Sheriff shall have charge of the county jail and all persons confined therein. We have a full time and part time staff that supervises a male and female population. The staff reports to the Jail Administrator, who is currently one of the Deputies. The Jail Administrator reports directly to the Sheriff. Jail Staff are responsible for booking of new inmates, obtaining medical information and supplying necessary medications, coordinating court hearings for inmates, and feeding and controlling the inmate population.

The Winnebago County Sheriff's Deputies are professionally trained in traffic control and accident investigation. In the county, the majority of traffic enforcement and accident investigation is performed by the Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office is also responsible for the Civil Process Service. Iowa Sheriff's are responsible for supporting courts within the county. Sheriff's Deputies provide the service of "court papers" to the proper individuals or entities. The Sheriff is responsible for the serving of these civil papers within Winnebago County, regardless of where the court papers originate, whether in the State of Iowa or any state within the United States.