Sheriff

Get involved. Volunteer at the Clackamas County Jail.

Every day, the Clackamas County Jail relies on volunteers to help adults in custody transition back into society so they become productive citizens in the community.

Volunteers offer their time, talents and indispensable professional expertise to help our Jail Division is to achieve its mission.

Volunteers are unpaid -- but the job comes with the responsibilities and expectations of paid staff working in our jail.

Ways Jail Volunteers can help

Volunteers can provide programming services to offenders in such areas as:

• Drug treatment
• GED education
• Work education
• Parenting education
• Life skills education
• Religious services
• Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) -- learn more by reading the PREA Volunteer Brochure

Volunteers serve as role models for work ethics, behavior change, and effective interpersonal skills.

Application process

• Application form
• Volunteer Manual

Safety and security is our number one priority. To this end, we have an application and orientation process that will prepare you to be successful and safe.

How to Apply

1. Please read and familiarize yourself with our Volunteer Manual. It provides a great deal of information about our Office and how volunteers can perform their services effectively.
    
2. Complete this application and email it to the Program/Volunteer Coordinator Deputy Christopher Barton at cbarton@clackamas.us. Answer all questions truthfully. If any question cannot be clearly answered, please elaborate in the additional supplemental space (see page 12).
    
3. The Program Coordinator will review your application.
   A criminal history check will be made and references may be contacted. The reference check will seek to verify if you have the experience and are competent in the area where you will be working. The Program Coordinator will ask for a written response from you for any areas that need further clarification.
    
4. Meet with the Program Coordinator to discuss your program, schedule and specific tasks
   Once the review is completed, the Program Coordinator will contact you to arrange a time for you to attend an orientation class of the jail rules and procedures. The Program Coordinator will also determine if you meet our program mission and goals. If you are not sure what you want to do, the Program Coordinator can discuss options with you and arrange a meeting in an area that interests you. 
    
5. Access is granted after completion of the orientation class.

If you have any questions or need clarification, please contact:

Jail Program/Volunteer Coordinator
Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office
2206 Kaen Rd.
Oregon City, Or. 97045
Office: 503-722-6725

Your service is important to our jail and community. Thank you for considering how you can make a difference in the lives of those adults in custody entrusted to our care.

The Detectives Division provides investigative support for the Patrol Division.

Personnel assigned to Detectives possess special skills in interviewing, crime scene investigations, warrant preparation, evidence collection and preservation, constitutional issues (including search and seizure and Miranda warnings), and interpersonal relations.

The Detectives Division is divided into the following units:

• Adult Sex Crimes Unit
• CAT (Child Abuse Team)
• CFU (Computer Forensics Unit)
• Clackamas County Inter-agency Task Force (CCITF)
• CSI (Crime Scene Investigation)
• DVERT (Domestic Violence Enhanced Response Team)
• Forensic Image Specialist
• INTERCEPT (Inter-agency Child Exploitation Prevention Team)
• Homicide and Violent Crimes Unit (HVCU)
• Property Crimes Unit

The Sheriff's Office works with Telmate to simplify adult in custody telephone calls. More info below.

Policy Overview

The Clackamas County Jail provides telephone usage to unrestricted adults in custody so they can maintain personal communications and ties with friends and family to facilitate their future transition from jail life to community life.

Our policy is ensure the jail's safety, security, order, and efficient operation while using the least restrictive means possible to regulate general adult in custody telephone use.

Within a reasonable time frame following the admission process, adults in custody shall be allowed to use the phone to contact family/friends or their attorney -- unless the intake forms have not been completed due to the adult in custody's disruptive behavior.

Availability of Telephones

1. Telephones are available in all housing units at the Jail, with the exception of disciplinary blocks.
2. Telephone calls may be monitored or recorded to prevent introduction of contraband and to prevent violations of law and/or jail adult in custody rules.
3. Unrestricted adults in custody may use these telephones to call collect locally or anywhere in the United States as long as the call recipient will accept the collect charges.
4. The telephones are for outgoing calls only; they will not accept incoming calls.
5. To add money to an adult in custody account to make calls, you can contact Telmate (the adult in custody telephone provider) at 866-516-0115 (toll-free).
6. Telmate customer service representatives are available 24/7 to help you send money or answer your telephone questions.

Adding Telmate Funds Online

You can add adult in custody funds for telephone access anytime, day or night, from Telmate's website. Money is posted instantly to the adult in custody's account for use.

Adult in Custody Voicemail

Now Available: You can now leave a voicemail message for about the price of a local phone call. Call 866-516-0115 and follow the automated instructions.

Hours of Telephone Access

Telephones are generally available every day.

Adults in custody may use telephones in their housing area from late morning through late evening. The exact times authorized by the supervisor on duty are dependent on security issues. Calls automatically "time out" disconnect after 15 minutes.

Telephone Rules

These rules will be posted for adults in custody to see in their cell blocks. They are also listed in the adult in custody manual. In addition, adults in custody may ask deputies to explain any of the rules the do not understand. Telephone calls may be monitored or recorded to prevent introduction of contraband and to prevent violations of law and/or jail adult in custody rules.

• Adults in custody must not damage the telephone equipment.
• Adult in custody calls are limited to 15 minutes.
• Profanity and yelling on the telephone are prohibited.
• Harassment, intimidation, or threats over the telephone is prohibited.
• Adults in custody may never call the victims/witnesses of crimes they are accused of committing.
• The monitoring/recording of any call may be used in an adult in custody disciplinary hearing or court proceeding as evidence.

Violation of Telephone Rules

Telephones are a privilege -- therefore, they must be used in a manner that complies with the state laws, county ordinances, and jail adult in custody rules.

Adults in custody who misuse the telephone system may be warned, informally disciplined, lose their telephone privileges, or subject themselves to major Jail discipline and/or criminal action if and when appropriate.

Blocking Adult in Custody Telephone Calls

A citizen, upon request, may have his or her telephone number blocked from being called by the jail adult in custody telephone system. If you want your phone blocked, call 503-722-6221.

Blocking a telephone number can take up to 24 hours, excluding weekends and holidays.

Senate Bill 498 Reporting

Download the Senate Bill 498 report here (PDF).

“Drive with a Cop” has been canceled for 2021. Check this page for updates.

Drive With A Cop pairs teens who are licensed drivers in their own cars with Clackamas County Sheriff's Office deputies who are also trained driving instructors. Teens learn about safe driving techniques as they navigate a driving course. Inside, teen drivers go through a variety of stations where they learn about the dangers of speed, impaired, and distracted driving. Participants have the opportunity to wear "impaired goggles" and also hear from speakers impacted by teen car crashes.

Drive With A Cop features

• Hands-on driving training with Clackamas County Sheriff's Office deputies.
• Speakers impacted by the loss of family members in teen driving crashes.
• Virtual Reality Technology, Impaired Goggles, and other technology aimed at teaching young people about the dangers of driving impaired and distracted.
• Crash Reconstruction presentation.

Registration info: This event is currently canceled for 2021.

Spaces are limited to the first 100 people to register.

Videos

Maddi Higgins was a 17-year old who died in a teen driving crash. Maddi's mother Carrie Higgins spoke at the first Drive With A Cop, where this video was first shown.

News Stories About Past "Drive With A Cop" Events

• Teens 'Drive with a cop' on the racetrack (KGW, Oct. 5, 2019)
• ‘Drive with a Cop’ Teaches Safe Driving (NACo, May. 26, 2019)
• Local teens get to 'Drive With a Cop' (Lake Oswego Review, Oct. 26, 2017)
• 'Drive with a cop' teaches young drivers safe driving (KOIN, Oct. 21, 2017)
• 'Drive with a Cop' pays tribute to teen victims (Wilsonville Spokesman, Oct. 28, 2015)
• Local mom organizes 'Drive With a Cop' after daughter's death (The Tennessean, Oct. 24, 2015)

The Firearms Training Unit (FTU) delivers proven, high-quality, and legally defensible training in marksmanship, gun handling, tactics, mindset, and the legal use of lethal force to the sworn members of the Sheriff's Office.

All training is designed to teach deputies to survive deadly-force encounters while simultaneously protecting the community and preserving citizens' civil rights.

Firearms Training Unit instruction is fully integrated with other skills areas of police work -- such as emergency vehicle operation, patrol tactics, and defensive tactics -- to give deputies all the force options and tools needed to successfully accomplish their assignments.

Training Safety

The Firearms Training Unit conducts training with a primary objective of making every deputy safe in their handling of weapons on the range, on the street, and in their own homes.

In developing courses of fire, each activity is analyzed for special safety considerations. A risk-benefit analysis is conducted to determine if training should be conducted, modified, or restructured. The ongoing in-service training conducted by the FTU for the instructors helps keep the training safety top notch, just as it keeps the instruction state of the art. FTU instructors are regularly called upon to serve as safety officers for other units such as SWAT, MEU, and Defensive Tactics.

One issue of firearms safety that the FTU recognizes and works to prevent is interlimb interaction. This can cause deputies under stressful conditions to unintentionally discharge their weapons. Interlimb interaction (also called sympathetic squeeze) is the involuntary contraction of an individual's hand and finger muscles. In law enforcement, we are very concerned with interlimb interaction as it relates to accidental discharges with firearms.

Deputies are issued a keypad activated safe for the secure storage of their sidearms. This is part of an effort by the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office to ensure that deputies and their families are safe in their home.

Instructors

The FTU is led by a sergeant and is staffed with deputies from Patrol and Corrections. One deputy is assigned to the PSTC as the full time firearms instructor. That deputy is responsible for training planning, scheduling, and range maintenance as well as instruction. Certification of instructors comes through the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.

Nearly all of the instructors have attended both the NRA and the FBI's Firearms Instructor Courses. Additionally, the FTU has held in-service training from Insights Training, Yavapai Firearms Academy, Firearms Academy of Seattle, Jim Crews, and Stu Nakamura. Instructors have sought out additional training from Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, Heckler and Koch International Training Division, Ken Hackathorn, John Farnham, and Front Sight. This exposure to the top schools in the nation continues to ensure that the material being presented is of the finest quality and is grounded in most defensible theory.

Instructors on the FTU have been selected by a rigorous process and represent some of the most experienced members of the department. The most junior members of the unit have nearly 10 years of patrol experience. Several have extensive backgrounds in military operations and SWAT.

Equipment

Deputies are responsible for purchasing their own firearms. Deputies may carry weapons in 9mm, .40 caliber, and .45 caliber from Colt, Sig Sauer, Heckler and Koch, Smith and Wesson, Glock, and Ruger. Additionally, deputies are permitted to carry M1911's from Wilson, Les Baer, SVT, and similar manufacterers.

Deputies are issued the Remington 870 shotgun as their shoulder weapon.

Deputies are permitted to purchase their own .223 AR-15 patrol rifle for carry. Deputies are permitted to purchase AR-15's made by Colt, Armalite, Olympic Arms, and Bushmaster. Those deputies receive specialized training in the employment of that weapon prior to deploying the weapon and then receive additional ongoing training for the AR-15.

Some deputies are armed with the Pepperball Non Lethal system. Pepperball systems fire high speed "paintball" type projectiles that are filled with oleoresin capsicum powder. Propulsion of the rounds comes from high pressure gas. Specialized projectiles are carried for some situations like a glass breaking round and a water-filled impact round.

The holiday shopping season is in full swing. To help keep your holiday safe and happy the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office offers the following tips for shoppers:

Shopping at Stores or Malls

• Stay alert and be aware of your surroundings.
• Don't overburden yourself with packages.
• Take extra care with purses and wallets. Carry your purse close to your body. Keep your wallet in an inside coat pocket, front pants pocket or zippered pocket. Don't leave your purse or wallet in your vehicle. Thieves may watch women exiting their vehicles to see if they are carrying a purse or not. (Watch a video public-safety announcement on this subject.)
• Never leave your purse unattended in a shopping cart on a countertop.
• Don't carry large amounts of cash. Bring just one debit or credit card and avoid leaving it out where others can read it.
• Park your car as close to your destination as possible. Make sure packages are locked in the trunk, out of sight. If you are going to continue shopping, after placing items in the trunk, move your vehicle to another location in the parking lot.
• Try to shop during daylight hours, and when shopping at night, park in a well-lit area.
• When returning to your car, have your keys out and keep alert. Lock your doors as soon as you are inside the vehicle.
• Shop with others when possible.
• If shopping with small children, make sure they know what to do if they become separated from you inside a store or mall.
• Report suspicious activity to store/mall security or law enforcement.

Shopping Online

• Shop with known businesses.
• Obtain a phone number and address for the merchant, as an alternate way to contact them should there be problems with your order.
• Do not provide your Social Security number or driver's license number online -- this information is not needed to make a purchase.
• Conduct transactions on a secure server only.
• Make sure you understand all shipping charges, taxes and delivery dates.
• Have packages delivered to an address where they won't be left unattended for long periods of time.
• For more online shopping safety tips, go to the Federal Trade Commission's website.

The Crime Analysis Unit supports all Sheriff's Office divisions by studying, correlating and disseminating data.

Our crime analysts create victim and suspect profiles - looking for identifiable patterns and methods for specific crimes. Using these profiles, the unit then recommends patrol and detection methods that help catch offenders.

Analysts also do statistical reporting, manage computer systems and conduct data searches for all divisions.

For Concealed Handgun Licenses (CHL)

• Return to mail CHL info page
• Start a new online CHL application

K9 handler training

Our Sheriff’s Office K9 handlers are selected through a competitive process; human candidates must have at least five years’ experience as a police officer.

Once chosen, the dog and handler attend a six-week basic handler’s school. Once the team returns to service in Clackamas County, they spend their time training, responding to calls, searching for suspects and helping out our Patrol division and outside agencies with calls for service.

When are K9 teams needed?

The dogs are mostly used for their extraordinary senses of smell — although their keen hearing and ability to detect movement help with captures. K9 teams respond to the following incidents:

• Pursuits of suspects hiding from deputies
• Article, evidence or narcotics searches
• SWAT calls
• Residential or business alarms
• Premise checks
• High-risk traffic stops or pursuits

The K9 Unit also spends many hours on public demonstrations at schools, fairs, and community events.

Two of our former dogs, Mik and Nero, are featured in their own series of comic books.

2021 K9 team stats

From the 2021 CCSO Year in Review:

• 7 K9 teams
• 716 total deployments
• 826 total activities during deployments (building searches, area searches, vehicle sniff checks, etc.)
• 818 total hours deployed
• 170 total evidence items found

The goals of the EVO program are:

1. To teach drivers the skills they need to perform their jobs safely and efficiently while operating an emergency vehicle.
2. To help enable drivers to safeguard lives and property through the use of good judgement during emergency vehicle operation.
3. To minimize the risk to life and injury through the use of innovative and realistic techniques for avoiding and minimizing collisions.

These goals are met by instructing students not only the physical aspect of driving, but also the mental aspect. Instructors attempt to change the mindset of drivers from "Defensive" driving (simply reacting to events occurring around them), to that of being "Proactive" (an active participant). By making important decisions and having the vehicle move the way a driver wants it to, they are not forced to simply sit back and hold on in the event of an emergency.

Topics

• Basic Emergency Vehicle Operations Course
• Pursuit Emergency Vehicle Operations Course
• Pursuit Intervention Technique
• Proactive Driving (for non-sworn/non-police employees)
• Other classes that can be tailored to the needs of departments/agencies

All instructors are certified through DPSST (the state agency regulating public pafety employees) after a three-week instructor school and 96-hour supervised field-instruction program. Course content involves mastery of driving techniques as well as classroom presentation, instruction methodology and the instructor development course. Instructors remain current on changing case law and laws/rules governing the operation of emergency vehicles and provide updates to department members. Instructors also provide annual in-service training to several departments within Clackamas County. Instructors are involved in selection and testing of new equipment relating to emergency vehicles.

All class and track material is portable and ready to travel at a moment's notice, so instruction may be taken to agencies/groups requesting instruction. Department instructors are highly qualified both in the classroom and at the track. Many instruct in several topics and have developed customized training plans to specifically address the needs of agencies. Over the past several years the Clackamas County Emergency Vehicle Operations instructors have instructed at departments throughout the metro area and beyond. Our instructors have received requests for instruction from the coast as well as central Oregon.

If you are looking for assistance, contact the Sheriff's Office Training Coordinator at 503-794-8071.