Hartford County Sheriff's Department Connecticut

Until 1968, the Hartford County Sheriff's Department ran the Hartford County Jail located on Seyms Street in Hartford,[9] the High Sheriff and his family lived in the jail until the newly formed Connecticut Department of Correction took over responsibility for the facility. In 1986, the Hartford County Sheriff's Department became responsible for prisoners held prior to arraignment at the detention facility located in the basement of the new criminal courthouse at 101 Lafayette Street in Hartford. The facility has 48 double cells and two large gang cells.[10] The mix of prisoners held in the Lafayette street facility included those recently arrested, immigrants in the process of being deported by federal authorities, prisoners in court for trial and convicted felons (including death row inmates) appearing in court on appeal. In 1989 the sheriff's department became responsible for assisting the Hartford Police Department with booking and detaining all arrestees at the city booking facility, formerly at 155 Morgan Street in Hartford.[11]

The Hartford County Sheriff's Department was responsible for protecting the public and maintaining order at the Supreme Court in Hartford, the Appellate Court in Hartford and all the Superior Courthouses in the county. The courthouses were located in the towns of Hartford, West Hartford, New Britain, Bristol, Enfield and Manchester.[5] In carrying out their courthouse duties, Hartford County Sheriff's Department personnel had to deescalate violent confrontations and arrest perpetrators,[12][13] seize weapons and drugs brought into courthouses,[14] and provide security for high-profile death penalty [15][16] and gang trials.[17] The department also managed high-profile court appearances by semi-celebrities including Oksana Baiul charged with DUI in 1997 at the West Hartford Courthouse.[18][19]

The Hartford County Sheriff's Department was responsible for the transportation of all arrestees of the Hartford Police Department and prisoners on trial between court and the Hartford Community Correctional Center, Whiting Forensic Institute [20] and other state correctional facilities.[21]

Hartford County Deputy Sheriffs were responsible for the service of civil process in Hartford County. Also known as "paper sheriffs," deputy sheriffs had the same powers as a high sheriff with respect to serving legal process. Each appointee was responsible for his or her own performance The major types of work performed by deputy sheriffs were service of process, executions against wages, bank accounts, and property, and the collection of delinquent taxes. Service of process includes writs, summonses, subpoenas, evictions, and capias (writs that require taking a person into custody). Deputies receive most of their work directly from law firms, governmental entities, and individuals who need papers served. The duties of deputy sheriffs required them to divide their time between office activities and work on the road. A considerable amount of record keeping was involved, both before and after a document is served [22]

In 1996, in coordination with then Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the High Sheriff at the time created a special unit to help clear the backlog of thousands of outstanding civil warrants held by state agencies for parents who owed back child support and failed to appear in court to explain non-payment,[23][24][25] During its four-year existence the unit recovered over $1million in back child support.

In the late 1990s the Hartford County Sheriff's Department engaged in a number of community orientated policing efforts including: providing free cellphones for block watches to groups such as Hartford Areas Rally Together (H.A.R.T) to better communicate with police and working with the community, police and prosecutors to seize "nuisance properties" that were the focus of reoccurring prostitution complaints.