Columbia County sheriffs office

General information

The Office of the Sheriff is the oldest office under the
system of common law in the United States and is an
integral part of government in the State of New York.
The position of Sheriff in Columbia County dates back
to at least 1772 when Phillip J. Livingston was
appointed to the position. In 1822, Samuel E. Hudson
was the first Sheriff to be elected to serve a term of
three years. Since then, the Sheriff has been an elected
official with the current term being for four years.

As the oldest constitutional law enforcement officer of
the county, the Sheriff is charged with maintaining the
peace in all municipalities, villages, and townships
within his/her jurisdiction, as well as the care and
custody of persons pending court action. The Sheriff's
Office is unique in that it is one agency which provides
five public safety functions ...law enforcement,
corrections, security services, emergency management
and civil enforcement. In addition to police services,
the Sheriff maintains a 135 bed county jail located at the
Public Safety Facility and provides security for Local,
County and Supreme courts and other county buildings
such as the County Clerk's Office and Social Services.

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office is a state
accredited law enforcement agency which currently
employees 115 full time and approximately 60 part time
men and women who serve as Deputy Sheriff’s,
Correction Officers and civilian members of the
Communications, Civil, Records, Court Attendant,
Medical and Food Service sections of the Office. The
men and women within the five divisions of the Office,
(Law Enforcement, Corrections, Security Services,
Civil Enforcement and Emergency Management),
provide a wide range of services to County residents.
Deputy Sheriffs must reside in Columbia County. The
Sheriffs Office is a civil service agency. Full time
employees are required to pass a civil service test and
be ranked on a list approved by New York State and
administered by the county Civil Service Commission.

Columbia County is located in the Hudson Valley of
New York State between the Hudson River and the
Massachusetts and Connecticut state lines. It is
approximately 125 miles north of New York City, 30
miles south of Albany and 100 miles west of Boston,
MA. In addition to approximately 64,000 residents
residing over 644 square miles of land area, Columbia
County has roughly 30 miles of Hudson River
waterfront along its west border.

The Sheriff's Office owes its successful development to
the support of the Columbia County Board of
Supervisors, the many previous Sheriffs and all of the
men and women both past and present, who have
dedicated themselves to the service and protection of
the citizens of Columbia County.