WASHINGTON CO. SHERIFF’S OFFICE 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
During 2023, the Washington County Sheriff's Office conducted criminal investigations, traffic stops, investigated and/or assisted the Texas Department of Public Safety with traffic accidents, participated in and conducted State required mandated training for all Sheriff’s Office employees, conducted job interviews and promotional boards, and responded to and investigated assaults and disturbances. The Washington County Sheriff's Office is also responsible for operating a 177-capacity jail, which has passed random jail inspections conducted by the Texas Jail Commission for 11 years in a row. This does not happen by accident. It is the result of hard work, attention to detail, and dedication to the tasks at hand all while working a 12 hour shift behind closed doors. Deputies, also working 12 hours shifts, investigated property crimes, testified in court, attended mandatory training sessions, conducted applicant background checks, responded to loose livestock and residential and business alarms, provided courtroom security, transported prisoners statewide, conducted safety and welfare checks on residences and businesses and provided security at local school districts. The items listed below represent a small sample of over 100 incident/offense categories tracked and reported by the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
1) Responded to 22,856 incidents/calls; 1,259 incident and case reports generated
2) 999,782 miles driven
3) 1,584 traffic tickets written
4) 3,124 traffic warnings
5) 451 traffic accidents
6) 252 reckless driving calls
7) 421 false alarms
8) 968 loose livestock calls
9) 193 animal calls, 37 animal bite calls
10) 764 suspects arrested – felony and misdemeanor charges
11) 502 request to verify welfare of individual
12) 447 calls of “assistance rendered” to motorists and outside agencies
13) 1034 warrants (felony and misdemeanor) cleared/served
14) 1485 calls responded to City of Burton
15) On average of 4 Sheriff Deputies vacancies per month
During 2023, deputies, jailers, work crew supervisors, and support staff performed the following functions:
1) 1138 Male suspects booked into the jail
2) 388 Female suspects booked into the jail
3) 74 inmates transferred to TDCJ/State Jail/SAFPF/ISF (State Correctional Facilities).
4) 235 Bailiff Service dates to County, District and family courts
5) Provide daily savings of tax dollars by having repairs, general maintenance, and preventative maintenance addressed and completed by staff members and inmate labor.
6) Since January 1, 2023, Washington County Sheriff's Office Reserve Deputies have logged in approximately 40 hours of patrol, investigation, and special event duties.
7) On average of 6 Jailers vacancies per month
In 2023, the Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.), consisting of 9 men and women, and designated to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, performed the following functions. This professional work is cost free and is a tremendous asset to the Sheriff’s office, organizations, and our community. In addition to the C.O.P. required training, these men and women have trained in Hazardous Materials, Pipeline Emergency Response, SKYWARN (weather events), Self-Aid/Buddy Aid, Traffic Incident Management, FEMA Emergency Management Courses, and Active Shooter Training.
1) Volunteer Hours –1,896 hours
2) Miles Driven – 14,736 miles
3) Traffic Accident Assists – 97 accidents
4) Traffic Direction – Special Events – 36 events
5) Traffic Direction – Structure Fires – 9 fires
6) Training Hours- 410 hours
I would like to thank the entire staff of the Washington County Sheriff's Office, our COP’s, and our reserves for the professional services provided to the citizens of our county. As your Sheriff, I can assure each of you that we will continue to perform our job functions with integrity and professionalism and I thank you all for the opportunity to continue to serve our great county throughout 2024. I would also like to thank our citizens for their continued and unwavering support and the prayers for our officers and their families during these tough times. We all hope and pray that 2024 begins the healing process that our country so needs and desires.
Should any of our citizens have questions or comments about the Washington County Sheriff's Office, please get in touch with us through email, by phone, or in person. Also, feel free to visit our website at www.washingtoncosheriff.org.
Lastly, I want to advise our citizens that if the need arises to verify current inmates, bonding information, and charges, this information can be viewed on our website listed under Current Inmate Roster and then accessing by clicking on “Inmates.”
As a reminder, the Washington County Dispatch Center non-emergency number is 979-277-7373. If you have an emergency, always call 911. The main number for the Washington County Sheriff's Office is 979-277-6251.
Respectfully and God bless Washington County
Sheriff Otto H. Hanak