From Polk County:
Sheriff Waak was elected to office in November of 2018 and was sworn into office for his first term on January 7th, 2019.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Department serves a population of 44,205 people (2010 census) and covers approximately 956 square miles (917 sq. miles of land & 39 sq. miles of water).
The Sheriff’s Department is the primary dispatch center for 11 village and City police departments. There are also 16 fire departments, and seven full-time ambulance services that are supported by our dispatch center. Service providers such as State Conservation Wardens, Wisconsin State Patrol, National Park Service, St. Croix Chippewa Tribal Police, and the Interstate Park Rangers also utilize the dispatch center for assistance in performing their duties.
The Sheriff’s Department is staffed with 81 full-time employees and several part-time staff to meet the service needs of Polk County. Each of the three main divisions, Field Services, Communications, and Corrections, are staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, regardless of holidays.
The Sheriff’s Department has boats, snowmobiles, and all terrain vehicles capable of responding to any area of the county’s vast terrain.
Our jail is a 160 bed facility, built on the “pod” system, that houses pre and post sentenced inmates. In addition, our jail holds inmates for other local counties as a revenue-generating asset to Polk County. The Jail also houses it’s own laundry service and a full kitchen facility to provide meals to the jail population three times daily. The jail contracts for a full-time nursing staff to meet the medical needs of inmates. There is also a large group of jail volunteers who provide religious programs, educational classes, alcohol and drug education, family living, parenting skills, and one-on-one counseling.
The men and women of the Polk County Sheriff’s Department are proud to serve the citizens of Polk County. The department motto, chosen by it’s employees, is Integrity, Honor, and Courage.