Sheriff’s Office

415 West 1st Avenue, Suite 102,
Miller, South Dakota 57362-1342
Business Hours: 605-853-2408*
Emergency = 9-1-1

Doug DeBoer – Sheriff / Email: handcosheriff@hotmail.com

Dani Davis – Office Manager & County Constable / Email: handcodispatch@hotmail.com

Wayne Ames - Deputy Sheriff / Email: deputysheriff.handcounty@hotmail.com

James “Jim” Henson – Deputy Sheriff / Email: deputysheriff.33-1C@live.com

Vacant – Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Management /Email:  handcounty.em@live.com

Hot Items:

Operations:

The sheriff`s office is open for business during normal courthouse hours.Courthouse hours are 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. (Monday through Friday), excluding holidays.  During the non-business hours “on-call” staff members respond to emergencies as needed.  An answering machine on the office line will direct callers to the correct “on-call” person.

Welcome

I would like to welcome you to the home of the Hand County Sheriff’s Office.  I will make every effort to provide you with useful information about how your sheriff operates your sheriff’s office.  I have and plan to continue to be responsive to the community’s needs and provide you with law enforcement and public safety services which are responsive to community needs.

I welcome your comments so please feel free to send me an email.

Thanks for visiting!

Sheriff Doug DeBoer

Frequently Asked Questions…

Concealed Weapons Applications:

Applications for concealed weapons (handguns permits) are available only during office hours.  An applicant must appear in the sheriff’s office and provide valid identification and proof of residency prior to making application.

Permits are currently $10 and valid for 4 years.  South Dakota permits are honored in several other states.  For a full picture of how the permits are administered, please follow this link for more information.

The process of making an application for a concealed weapons permit takes between 10 and 20 minutes so please plan accordingly.

Accident Records:

The sheriff’s office uses the standardized Department of Public Safety accident report form for the recording of accidents.  Accident records are available upon request to the sheriff’s office for a $4.00 fee, plus sales tax of 6% ($0.24).  The sheriff’s office only has reports for accidents which sheriff’s employees investigate.  If an accident was investigated by another law enforcement agency, you should contact that agency for assistance.

All injury accidents and those with damage exceeding $1000 are transmitted to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, Accident Records Division for recording.  This is an excellent location to retrieve reports, especially if you do not know the agency which led the investigation.  This link will take to the DPS-AR website.

Generally, accidents are processed in 3 days or less.  Accidents with injury generally take from a week to 2 weeks to process and fatal accidents are, with rare exception, investigated by the South Dakota Highway Patrol.

Accident records are considered public records, open to inspection upon request.

Why call 9-1-1 and for what?When you need help…Dial 9-1-1The sheriff’s office is open during the week from 8am until 5 pm.  After 5 pm an employee is “on call” to assist callers who need assistance.  In all cases, if the call needs “immediate” or “emergency” assistance, the caller should call 9-1-1 before all other numbers.

Hand County 9-1-1 calls are answered by the Huron Police Department.  The Huron Police Department 9-1-1 center is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by trained and experienced 9-1-1 operators who have passed the State of South Dakota’s training program.The 9-1-1 operators have the equipment necessary to locate you as a caller whether you are at home on a traditional telephone or whether you are on your wireless / cellular telephone.  This is a great advantage in providing you service since the operator will know (in most cases) where the call is coming from, even if a word is not spoken.

Already in its 10th year of service, 9-1-1 operations have aided in domestic violence situations, ill or injured parties, automobile accidents and fires.

Hand County maintains a radio system which allows the responders, whether firemen, ambulance staff, emergency management or law enforcement, immediate and reliable two-way communications.  All Hand County based agencies (and some in neighboring counties) have access to this “Mutual Aid” radio system and it allows us to communicate directly with each other and with the 9-1-1 operators in Huron.

It is this “instant” communications which allows responders to respond while the call takers / 9-1-1 operators dispatch the proper agencies and equipment.

We strongly encourage people to use 9-1-1 over traditional telephone calls.

Local Warrants

The following link will take you to a PDF file containing the names of people with active warrants in Hand County. It is important to note that all persons listed here are “innocent until proven guilty”.  If you know where one of these suspected offenders is, please notify your local law enforcement agency.  Do not approach the offender as this may pose a serious safety hazard to you and your family. Most warrants found on this list are non-extraditable warrants which means we will not seek execution of the warrant outside of South Dakota.  Information about nonresident offenders is still useful and we’d like to know about it.  Please email us with information about listed offenders who might be out of state.

2012 – State Warrant Files (January 1-published)

County Commission / Activity Reports by Sheriff DeBoer

The following links will take you to a PDF file containing the month’s information and activity as presented to the County Board of Commissioners.  Much of this data is published in the Miller Press if they are present.  This is the same packet of material that is given to each commissioner, the auditor and the press.  This is a public record.

2012 CC Activity Summary

Common reasons to call 9-1-1:

• Vehicle crashes (injury or non-injury)

• Fire involving any vehicle, building, utility service or public property.

• Fires which the caller believes are “unattended” or dangerous to the public

• Natural Disasters

• Gas leaks or other hazardous materials release

• Injured people

• Objects or animals on the roadway which are hazards to safety

• Crimes which are occurring

• Crimes which were just discovered

• Traffic violations which need immediate attention

• If someone is found dead in their home, car or out in the open

• If you see a tornado or funnel cloud

• If you see someone who needs to have their welfare checked (in real time)

Do not call 9-1-1 for the following:

• To speak to a specific officer or staff member

• To report a pet in your yard

• To check weather or road conditions (that number is 5-1-1)

• To get telephone directory assistance (that number is 4-1-1)

• To locate underground or overhead utilities (that number is 8-1-1)

• To report a crime that is days or weeks old (except death)

• To ask questions which are not immediately necessary?

Narrow banding frequencies and FCC license data:

• In December 2010 the low band license held by the sheriff’s office was modified so that the frequencies 39.16 and 39.18 were cancelled.  Low band frequencies 39.1 and 39.32 were kept.  This license expires in 2013.  We are currently unaware of any public safety agencies using these frequencies but the county has choosen to maintain the license in the event they are needed.  We will (most likely) renew this license in 2013.  License callsign: KAE930.
• In Janaury 2011 the FCC approved an application for modification to add the narrowband emission to the UHF license for the Ree Heights (Mutual Aid) transmitter.  The modified license allows for both wide and narrow band emissions.  On January 1, 2013 no wide band emissions will be allowed on this or any other UHF license issued to the county.  License callsign: KPKT537.
• In December of 2010 an application was made to the FCC to renew the UHF station used by the Hand County Highway Department and to a lessor degree public safety agencies.  The license had expired at the time of the application so a waiver of the rules was requested.  In January 2011 the FCC approved renewal of the license.  This license was already given a narrow band emission and no wide band emission is present.  Wibe band transmitters should refrain from using this transmitter until such time as the emission is changed.  License callsign: WPQZ486.  UPDATE: On April 23, 2011 this station was reprogrammed to narrow band emissions.  The programming for other public safety repeaters was also added so that, in an emergency, this station can be used elsewhere to maintain emergency communications.
• In December of 2010 an application was made to the FCC to modify the UHF station used by the Hand County Sheriff’s Office and Miller Police Department for routine law enforcement business.  The license had not expired so the modification was to add the narrow band emission.  A request was also made to increase the power output of the station.  This application was denied.  An application will be made to add the narrow band emission and plans to increase the output power will be put on hold.  License callsign: KNJP767.