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About Benzie County Sheriff and Jail, Michigan

Benzie County is located in the Northwestern Lower Michigan in the United States of America. The county has around 340 square miles, with 54 recognized lakes and many smaller ones, and 25 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline- thus making it the smallest of Michigan’s 83 counties in terms of land size. According to the 2020 Census, the population was 17,970. Benzie County is in the Traverse City Micropolitan Statistical Area with its county seat in Beulah. The county was formed in 1869 after being established in 1863. Due to the national natural resources, the county is prone to massive populations coming in as tourists.

How Did The Sheriff’s Office Come Into Existence?

The Sheriff’s office in Michigan dates back to before the state’s first Constitution when Michigan was still under British control. A constitution was established in 1835, two years before Michigan became a state. The post of Sheriff was created under this Constitution, and nothing has been altered since then. The Michigan Constitution was amended three times: in 1850, 1908, and 1963. The office of Sheriff is created under Articles I, Section 1, and Article IV Section 4-6 in the most recent version of the Michigan Constitution, which was published in 1963.

Who Elects The Benzie County Sheriff?

In Benzie County, all power is in the hands of the residents in the county. This is particularly true in the case of the Sheriff. The Sheriff is the only law enforcement official in the town. The residents directly choose the Sheriff every four years, and the people can easily strip the Sheriff of their power.

What Are The Responsibilities Of The Benzie County Sheriff?

Even though the Sheriff’s Office in Benzie County serves around 18,000 people, the population surges to about 50,000 people during the summer tourist season. That poses new challenges for law enforcement in the county.

The Sheriff’s Office of Benzie County is the main supplier of law enforcement services in the county. The Law Enforcement Division’s main goal is to offer the greatest level of public service and safety to Benzie County residents, including tourists.

Jail Operations

  • The Sheriff is in charge of the Benzie county prison and its inmates, ensuring they are secure from internal and external threats.
  • The Sheriff also examines and evaluates workers who work in the prisons.

Public Roads And Highway Patrols

  • Traffic infractions are being patrolled and monitored. The Benzie Sheriff is responsible for patrolling and monitoring traffic violations.
  • The Sheriff also conducts accident investigations involving motor vehicles.
  • Assisting those in need on or near a roadway or road patrolled and monitored as required by this paragraph.
  • Patrolling roads.
  • Enforcing state law.
  • Investigating traffic accidents.
  • Providing emergency assistance to people on or near the highways.

Marine Patrol

The Sheriff’s office is responsible for operating the marine patrol on the waters available in the county, including Lake Michigan Shorelines. However, the state’s grant and local funds monetize the marine patrol.

State and federal laws require the Sheriff’s Marine Division to search for and retrieve drowning victims in any body of water in Benzie County. The Marine Division is responsible for enforcing and investigating any marine and criminal state laws breaches on Benzie County lakes.

The Sherif, through the county sheriff marine division, has the duties of:

  • Establishing contacts through halting boats.
  • Providing help to crippled boaters.
  • Responding to medical crises in the waters in the county.
  • Conducting and attending to search and rescue operations.
  • Investigating criminal activity happening on Benzie County’s waterways.
  • The Sheriff’s Office offers a complete boating safety program, which includes training young boaters.
  • Also, the office educates the civilians on the regulations and laws of the sea. The Sheriff also educates them on equipment that individuals must have that may aid in a rescue mission in case of an accident.

Snowmobile Patrols

Snowmobile patrol is usually only available on weekends and for special events. Special requests or concerns received from residents may necessitate selective enforcement. Deputies often monitor snowmobile tracks and other designated locations, performing inspections and compliance checks to verify that operators follow state and municipal regulations. The snowmobile patrol may be called out to help at accident sites and for search and rescue operations at any time.

Other Duties And Responsibilities 

  • Offers Applications services for a License to Purchase a Pistol and fingerprints for a Concealed Pistol License (CPL).
  • The Sheriff’s Records Division is in charge of registering all firearms owned by Benzie County residents.
  • The office offers Fingerprinting services on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays by appointment. However, this service is only available for Benzie county residents.

Benzie County Sheriff Contact.

Benzie County has a platform of various ways in which individuals can communicate to the Sheriff’s department. Hence, for the individuals who like to communicate with the Benzie County Sherriff’s Office, they may do so by:

Benzie County Jail

Benzie County Jail is a medium-security facility situated at 505 Michigan Avenue (US 31), Beulah, MI, 49617. The new Benzie County jail was opened in 1984 and currently holds both adult male and female inmates for the Beulah Police Department, the Michigan State Watch, and other state and federal law enforcement agencies. The Benzie County Jail has a maximum inmate capacity of 47, making it the smallest Direct Supervision Jail in the United States at the time of its establishment. The Jail and Sheriff’s Office activities are housed in the 19,000-square-foot brick and block building. The facility has more than 180 inmates who are now housed at this institution. Every year, the facility receives about 1116 bookings from all of Benzie County.

It has 32 employees under the direction of the county sheriff who operates. The inmates here are either the courts who have been convicted of a crime or are awaiting trial.

Intake Process

Upon arrival in the facility, the offenders receive their mugshot, a bath, and they have to provide their fingerprints. Mostly, the deputy sheriffs are responsible for bringing in inmates. However, Benzie County jail receives inmates from federal agencies and other local law enforcement agencies.

The facility also provides the new convicts with clothes, including the blue twill, a prisoner’s uniform, throughout the booking process. In addition, they receive a package of toiletries which includes toothpaste, bathing soap, and deodorant.

The facility has to run a background check to see whether the offender has any outstanding charges, and then they process the prisoner file. This file contains the pre-sentence report and other legal documents on the offender. The facility later gives the inmate an identification number and opens up a commissary account.

Also, upon arrival, each new convict has to undergo a health screening and assessment process. This includes a dental and optometric examination. They also get a Tuberculosis test and physical test. The Benzie medical team has to conduct a blood test on the offenders to examine their vulnerability to diseases and HIV test. However, the testing does not happen to the inmates who have previously documented positive test results. But, the test results must be from three months before incarceration. Additionally, the medical team provides a Hepatitis C risk factor screening to the prisoner within calendar days of arrival.

Benzie County Inmates’ Programs and Services

There are various programs and services that Benzie County Jail provides, as advised by the Michigan State Department of Justice. These Programs and Services include:

Religious Programs and Services

The MDOC was the first to officially identify religious organizations as eligible for consistent, Department-wide group services in 1992. Before that, each institution made its own decisions about who would be accommodated.

Benzie County jail has A Chaplaincy Advisory Council. The main purpose of this council is to provide religious advice to the Michigan Department of Corrections. The Department’s Policy Directive 05.03.150 covers all allowable religious items, property, activities, and meals.

The facility allows the inmates to come together at religious meetings and functions. That includes guidance and counseling meetings, praise and prayers meetings, and the celebration of specific state-recognized religious function days.

Orientation Program

This program is available for new convicts during the admission process, and it is provided within seven days of their arrival at their institution. Unless they are unavailable in cases such as the convict is on writ or hospital, they will receive the program upon arrival.

The main purpose of this program is to engage the convict with an overview of life at the institution. This program contains materials and ways to help the new convict cope with the stress of imprisonment and reduce anxiety. It is a fast way to provide the inmates with an easy adaptation to the institution.

The Orientation Program helps the inmates know who is in charge of which department in the jail. It also indicates when any and where each service is available in the facility. It provides a clear notion of the dos and don’ts of the Benzie County jail.

Health Services

The facility has a correctional Health Care officer who provides the inmates with the medical services they require. However, the Deputy Sheriff in writing has to direct the medical services. Additionally, they must include the specific inmate’s problems. To see the Benzie Medical Staff, inmates have to pay a fee of thirty dollars per visit. In case of a medical emergency, the Deputy Sheriff in charge deals with the situation properly.

The facility does not provide over-the-counter medicine such as aspirin and antacids without the approval of the medical staff. Those who want the medication have to fill out an Inmate Health Service Request and see Benzie’s medical staff.

Education Programs

Education Programs include GED, which the inmates achieve after attending classes and passing the respective tests. The facility also offers an ESL program to the Hispanic community.

Other Programs Include:

  • Substance Abuse Counseling.
  • Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous.
  • Women’s Empowerment Programs.
  • Commitment to Change Programs for Men.
  • Moral Reconation Therapy.

Inmates Trust Account

The facility prohibits inmates from possessing cash. Therefore, they advise the inmates to ensure the cash is deposited directly into their trust accounts. However, family and friends may send money to them; but the facility only allows cash, money orders, payrolls, and credit cards. Nonetheless, the individuals with personal checks may cash in with the Sheriff’s office. The facility documents all transactions are done, and one may receive a copy of the transaction upon release from jail upon your request. Since the trust accounts are personal, the facility does not allow inmates to share their accounts. Nevertheless, it buys goods from the commissary for other inmates.

The commissary is only open once a week. Moreover, inmates need to make an order before the lockdown, which is Monday. Additionally, the inmates have to sign a commissary form indicating that they received their ordered goods.

Also, the commissary caters to haircuts services.

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