Responsibilities

Court Security

A primary duty of the Sheriff’s Office is to provide security throughout the Civil and Criminal Superior Courthouses, including judges, juries, attorneys, litigants, personnel, and the general public. Sheriff’s Officers assigned to each courthouse entrance screen all who enter for possible concealed weapons or contraband using various techniques, procedures, and technology. Sheriff’s Officers are also responsible for maintaining security around the courthouse campus through their active presence, patrols, and utilizing advanced monitoring systems. Sheriff’s Officers maintain security and decorum in courtrooms during all proceedings and escort prisoners to and from court proceedings. They are also responsible for protecting juries during trials and deliberations to maintain trial integrity and avoid outside influences or jury tampering.

Transportation Unit

The Mercer County Sheriff’s Transportation Unit works closely with Mercer County Corrections to transfer prisoners, often from the Correction Center off River Road in Hopewell to the Criminal Courthouse on South Warren Street in Trenton. They are also responsible for moving the incarcerated to other State or County institutions and intra-state agencies. The standard journey for transport between the Correctional Center and the Criminal Courthouse is approximately thirteen miles each way. Despite that short distance, the unit utilizes specially equipped vans and exceptionally high-security measures.

Airport Unit

The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office Airport Unit ensures that you have a safe-travel experience at the Trenton-Mercer Airport. Sheriff’s Officers assigned to the ever-busy Trenton-Mercer Airport Unit are responsible for patrolling the airport grounds, terminal, and the airfield, in addition to general policing duties and utilizing advanced security measures both seen and unseen. The Unit works closely with the US Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration with Federally mandated airport rules in place to protect the flying public.

Patrol Unit

Encountering crime or signs of problems, the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Unit monitors and protects the area primarily around the Courthouses and County Administration District in addition to many other parts of the county.

The duties of the Patrol Unit include:

• Responding to calls for local emergencies.
• Making arrests.
• Resolving disputes.
• Maintaining an active presence in crime zones.
• De-escalating situations.
• Protecting citizens and local businesses.
• Taking crime reports.
• Conducting traffic enforcement.

 

Additionally, the Patrol Unit readily assists local police departments throughout Mercer County in their day-to-day public safety duties.

K-9 Unit

Established in 1993, the K-9 Unit of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office began with just two specially trained dogs. Since then, it has grown into an extensive law enforcement unit specializing in the pursuit of missing persons, criminal searches, explosive detection, tracking and much more. Today, Federal, State and local law enforcement, including Presidential security details and post-disaster recovery teams depend on the unit’s specialized services.

Explosive detection dogs respond to the needs of every law enforcement agency in Mercer County and the surrounding area for bomb threats and suspicious packages. The unit participates with the NJ Detect and Render Safe Task Force to assure homeland security and provide infrastructure security checks. The K-9 Unit plays a major role in protecting the terminal areas of the Trenton-Mercer Airport, mostly called on to search unattended luggage and suspicious packages. The unit also assists at large sports venues, transit stations, special events, and dignitary details. The K-9 Unit responds swiftly to requests for missing children and adults, Alzheimer’s patients and the search for fugitives. The unit also responds to crimes and special situations including disturbances, street fights, public unrest, and building searches for dangerous suspects. K-9 teams generally average over 150 assignments per year.

Detective/Fugitive Unit

The Detective / Fugitive Unit is responsible for serving warrants issued by the Superior Court and the Probation Department. Warrants are issued for non-appearance, non-support, probation violation, and any other judicial edict. The Sheriff’s Office is responsible for making every attempt to apprehend the individuals on these warrants.

Members of the Detective /Fugitive Unit have many other responsibilities, which include:

• Extradition of fugitives from out of state
• Direct and active participation in the apprehension of state and local fugitives
• Conduct investigations of suspected criminal activities
• Collect and preserve evidence obtained in criminal cases
• Maintain a computer database on criminal and domestic bench warrants
• Execution of bench warrants and court-ordered temporary restraining orders
• Participation in federal and county task forces involving narcotics, weapons, and fugitives

Temporary Restraining Order Section

Mercer County Sheriff’s Officers commonly serve Court–ordered Temporary Restraining Orders (widely known as TROs) and may execute search warrants for weapons in the household when directly ordered by the Court. TROs are often related to the basis of harm, threat, harassment, or domestic violence. Because of the severe nature of its work, the Sheriff’s TRO Section is organized and functions under the Fugitive Unit.

Tactical Response Team

The Mercer County Tactical Response Team is trained and equipped to safely resolve critical incidents that exceed the capabilities of traditional law enforcement units. The Team employs state-of-the-art equipment and tactics to save lives and de-escalate incidents that pose a threat to public safety.

Crisis Negotiation Team

In 2021, the Tactical Response Team formed the Crisis Negotiation Team to provide a much-needed communications capability to assist with de-escalation during tactical operations. The Crisis Negotiation Team is comprised of several officers who will respond to attempted suicides, barricaded subjects, hostage situations, and any other incident where a crisis negotiator could potentially resolve the crisis and/or critical incidents while attempting to avoid unnecessary risk to officers, citizens, and subjects.

Sheriff Foreclosure Sales

To conduct the sale of real property after foreclosure proceedings have been concluded.

Civil Process

The Civil Process Division is responsible for serving process papers, including summonses, subpoenas, temporary restraining orders and execution of writs.

Community Education Programs

The Sheriff’s Office has many Community Education Programs for citizens of Mercer County to keep them informed on crime prevention methods and personal safety. Throughout the year, Sheriff’s personnel visit all areas of Mercer County providing discussion, instruction and demonstration for adults and children to help make their lives safer. Some of the highly effective work is geared towards seniors, some toward students and some towards the public at large. Whether aimed at those at home, at work or in school, these programs have made local residents better educated about crime awareness and prevention.

The programs are designed for individuals, families, social and religious organizations and teachers. and include:

• Child Car Seat Program

The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office conducts child seat safety checks at the Colonial Fire Company, located at 801 Kuser Road in Hamilton Township. The free program, partially funded by a grant from the NJ Division of Highway Traffic Safety, is part of the Sheriff’s Office ongoing campaign to help parents, grandparents, expecting parents, and others to properly secure their children in an automobile. Trained and certified Sheriff’s Officers conduct each child seat check for proper installation.

The car seat safety check-ups take place from 5 to 8 p.m. on the last Tuesday of each month (there are no inspections in December due to the holiday season). Inspections take place in a weather-protected area in the rear of the firehouse. Participants should install their car seats before arrival and follow all health-minded guidance while at the event.

• Prescription Drug Take-Back Days

During the spring and fall seasons, Mercer County Sheriff ‘s Office provides local residents the opportunity to dispose of unneeded and expired prescription drugs during the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The goal is to help local residents to rid their medicine cabinets of unused and easily abused opioid painkillers, in addition to any other unneeded prescription medications with no questions asked. National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible method for disposing of unneeded and expired prescription pills.

• Kids Programs
  1. Finger Printing

The objective of the Fingerprint Program is to provide parents with a permanent record of their child’s fingerprints.

The Fingerprint Programs are conducted at school functions, community events or even shopping malls. A Sheriff’s Officer fingerprints both hands of the child. Upon completion of the fingerprinting, the parent is presented with a card that not only contains fingerprints, but also other pertinent information. Parents are urged to keep the fingerprint card in a safe guarded area, as it is very important in helping to either locate or identify their child.

1. 2. Court House Tours

Students visit the Court House and are given an overview of the responsibilities of Sheriff’s Officers and are allowed to sit in Juvenile and Criminal Court. They are taken to other offices located in the Court House where an employee of that office will give them a description of their responsibilities. These offices include the County Clerk, Prosecutor, and the Detention Center. Also, SERT and K-9 Demonstration are incorporated into this program.

Court House Tours may only be scheduled from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The Officer conducting the tour will make all arrangements with other offices.

1. 3. Gun Safety Program

The Gun Safety Program gives children preventative information needed pertaining to contact with a firearm.

The children are taught to avoid all contact with another child or person in possession of a firearm. The children are made aware of the consequences faced when a crime is committed with a firearm. The debilitating effects of being shot, as well as the social and economic effects on the individuals, is also explained in detail. Finally, a question-and-answer period is provided to the children, by a Sheriff’s Officer.

1. 4. Gun Lock Program

The Gun Lock Program is a program where the Sheriff’s Office will provide a free gun lock to anyone who requests one. The gun locks are provided to this Office by Project ChildSafe, which is a national program, whose purpose is to promote safe firearm handling and storage. The program is funded by a U.S. Department of Justice grant. The gun locks fit on most types of handguns, rifles and shotguns. The goal of this program is to prevent a child or any other unauthorized person, from accessing a firearm in your home.

• Senior Program
  1. Project Lifesaver

The Mercer County Sheriff’s Project Lifesaver Program is specifically designed for persons with cognitive disabilities who might wander from their homes and disappear. After a family consultation with our highly trained professionals, the potential wanderer is given a tiny wrist transmitter to wear. Also, life-saving information is stored in a database, including medicines needed, wandering history, past addresses where the wanderer might return, family contacts, and a photograph, all to help a rescue team complete a successful search. Under Project Lifesaver, search times for lost and wandering individuals are dramatically reduced.

1. 2. Personal Alarm Program

Since its inception, the Sherriff’s Personal Alarm Program has been one of our most popular senior programs to date. The purpose of the personal alarm is to act as a distress signal when you are in danger. The alarm sounds an ultra-loud, a 120-decibel pulsating siren. The screeching alarm is designed to scare off attackers and alert others for help. The personal alarm is excellent for seniors because of its small size, making it easy to carry. Through the Sheriff’s Programs Unit, a demonstration on how the alarm works is given, along with a discussion on personal safety tips. The Sheriff’s Office will provide alarms to each senior who attends this program.

1. 3. Senior ID Program (Ident-Adult Card)

“Ident-Adult” is an emergency identification card provided by the Sheriff’s Office, specifically for senior citizens. The card contains your name, address, telephone number, whom to contact in a medical emergency, doctor’s name and phone number, illnesses, and allergies. Should a senior become incapacitated by sudden illness and cannot speak or remember, the Ident-Adult card can speak for the cardholder, providing vital contact and medical information. Years ago, original cards contained a place for the thumbprint, but with improvements in technology, a photograph replaced the thumbprint of the cardholder.

1. 4. Personal Safety/Crime Prevention

The objective of the Crime Prevention & Personal Safety Program presented to seniors is to illustrate certain criminal situations and alternatives to prevent them.

One of the key points of the program is to focus on protecting themselves from becoming victims with a few basic tips. Instruction is given on keeping themselves safe in public, in their cars and in their homes.

Honor Guard

The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard is a ceremonial unit of specially trained officers assigned to present the colors of the United States of America, the State of New Jersey, and the County of Mercer. The Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard is utilized for high ceremonial occasions such as inaugurations, police academy graduations, area events, addresses by governmental leaders, honoring the fallen, or for solemn occasions where respect and honor are bestowed.