Lake County Sheriff's Office

In 2024 the Lake County Sheriff's Office in Northern California handled 41,604 calls for service and made 1,831 arrests, 724 of them for felonies, according to its annual report, with about 40 deputies and sergeants assigned to patrol. The county's lakes give the office a second beat on the water: its marine patrol works Clear Lake, Blue Lakes, Lake Pillsbury and Indian Valley Reservoir, and in 2024 it assisted 642 boaters and 106 vessels. On the corrections side, the Hill Road Correctional Facility in Lakeport opened its first phase in 1990 and became fully operational in 1999; the jail is rated by the state for 297 inmates, has 68 full-time staff including 52 sworn positions, and serves as the central booking center for everyone arrested in the county by the sheriff, the Clearlake and Lakeport police, the California Highway Patrol and other agencies. The sheriff also runs the county's Office of Emergency Services, the lead emergency management agency for the Lake County Operational Area, and a coroner's unit that investigates reportable deaths and notifies next of kin. Young people can join the Explorer program, and adults can attend a Citizens' Academy.