Patrol Division

The Patrol Division is commanded by Captain Tommy Trotter. The division is comprised of one captain, six sergeants and thirty-seven deputies. The Patrol Division operates 24-7 providing full police services to residents of Lancaster County outside of the city limits of Lincoln. Deputies patrol in marked cars, responding to calls for service, enforcing traffic regulations, serving warrants, investigating crime, conducting follow-up investigations, presenting educational programs, and generally assisting citizens. The Patrol Division responds to approximately 12,000 calls for service annually. Lancaster County covers an area of 839 square miles, has a population of approximately 317,272, twenty-three cities, towns and villages, twelve state lakes and NRD recreation areas.

Specialized Units

Field Training Program

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office recognizes an obligation to provide the community with well-trained, highly motivated professional law enforcement officers. The field training program is established as a bridge between academy training and the initial assignment of deputies in the field. The purpose of the field training program is to provide new deputies with in-depth experiential training and remedial training which may be necessary; and to evaluate the performance of new deputies in order to determine their fitness for continued employment beyond their probationary period. Deputies serving as field training officers must have at least three years of experience in order to be selected. New deputies accompany their assigned FTOs for daily observation and evaluation for several months prior to being approved for solo patrol. Sergeant Derek Horalek oversees the program as the FTO Coordinator.

Bike Patrol

In addition to marked patrol cars, the Patrol Division utilizes mountain bikes to patrol towns, villages, lakes, and hiking/cycling trails in Lancaster County, allowing deputies greater access to areas not easily accessible by car. This also provides residents and other citizens the opportunity to approach and observe deputies in their respective communities and recreational areas. Bike patrol promotes a sense of safety and security to the public, provides a visible deterrent to the criminal element and promotes physically fit deputies.

The Bike Patrol Unit is primarily funded through donations from private individuals and businesses. Donations are used to purchase new bikes and equipment. The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office welcomes citizen and business participation in sustaining this worthwhile program.

Crash Team

The Sheriff's Office utilizes a team of specially trained traffic crash investigators at the scene of crashes resulting in fatalities and other serious crashes involving criminal charges. Investigators must complete hundreds of hours of classroom and practical training to become certified to reconstruct collisions. Several members of the LSO crash team are certified through the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR), which is a nationally recognized professional certification. The crash team is supervised by Sergeant Drew Bolzer.

School Resource Officers

There are four high schools in Lancaster County: Norris, Waverly, Raymond Central and Malcolm. Each of these schools have deputies assigned as School Resource Officers for their respective district. Deputies assigned as SROs receive extensive specialized training in school safety, threat assessment, and active shooter responses. Additionally, SROs provide support and training to school staff and students by presenting educational programs. During the school year, deputies are present at schools full-time and supplement other LSO divisions during the summer break.