Arrest

Corrections

The Winnebago County Jail is a 1,324-bed, direct-supervision facility, with more than 160 corrections officers and 385,000 square feet of space. The jail, as a whole, is designed to accommodate the anticipated growth in population and arrest trends for the next 15 to 20 years.In addition to ensuring the safety and security of the facility, the staff and its inmates, a large part of the jail operations includes programming, with a total of eight classrooms are available throughout the third and fourth floors where classes such as GED, life skills, religious education and substance abuse education are conducted. Numerous community-based social service organizations participate in these programs which are funded annually by the one percent public safety sales tax.Other functions of the Corrections Division include the Corrections Emergency Response Team, food services, medical and mental health programs and court services.ABOUT THE JAILThe first floor of the jail houses such functions as pre-booking, booking, bond out  and the classification units. The second floor is comprised of all special-needs beds. Mental health, medical, maximum and segregation housing units are contained here and monitored in a modified direct supervision setting. The third and fourth floors of the jail are designed identically and hold the general housing unit population monitored under a direct supervision philosophy.Visitation is done via video. The inmate remains in the housing unit and uses a tablet that is dedicated to those areas. Video visitation eliminates the need for inmate escorts, controls contraband and ensures visitors are able to have their visit. The bond -out area also is easily accessed by the public from the State Street Justice Center parking lot, eliminating the need for those persons to enter the justice center complex at all.Each housing unit also contains its own medical exam room, which further reduces the need for inmate escorts. Fresh air recreation space is also provided in each unit and can be utilized by inmates as long as they are following the rules and regulations of the facility. 

Court Security

In addition to the normal security coverage of the Courthouse, Justice Center and Public Safety Building, Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office staff provides security for 24 regularly scheduled county board meetings and 10 victim impact meetings as well as on other occasions such as special board meetings, tax sales, public hearings and other meetings.Sheriff’s deputies assist court bailiffs with additional security for high profile or sensitive trials and are involved in the arrests and transport of prisoners wanted on warrants or remanded to the Sheriff by the courts.In addition, Facilities Security receives regular updates from the Office of Homeland Security and works in concert with the Director of ESDA on all matters of mutual concern. We also meet on a regular basis with the Chief Judge, Trial Court Administrator, Chief Bailiff and Corrections Supervisors to discuss security measures.

Crime Stoppers

What is Crime Stoppers?On January 1, 2021, the Rockford Area Crime Stoppers Program completed 41 years of successful service to the citizens of Winnebago County.The primary purpose of the program is to reduce crime and create a safer living environment by offering cash rewards to individuals who provide information which is used by law enforcement authorities in their efforts to identify criminal activity, solve crimes, recover stolen property and apprehend fugitives, thus creating the impression to potential offenders that the possibility of getting away with a crime is greatly reduced.The money used to pay rewards comes from contributions from the general public, foundations, corporations, businesses, civic organizations, etc.  No tax dollars are used to pay rewards.Quick 50The Crime Stoppers organization also continues to address school-related crime through the “Quick 50” Program. Public and private schools throughout Winnebago County use the program to encourage students to become involved in making their schools safer by offering up to $50.00 for information which leads to the suspension or arrest of students who are involved in criminal acts. In some cases, the reward may exceed $50.00.Informing the PublicCrime Stoppers has an excellent relationship with various media resources which allows the program to disseminate information to the public which assists Law Enforcement agencies to arrest Fugitives and solve crimes. TV stations feature wanted suspects on their news broadcasts, (over 20 different subjects every week).  The Rockford Area Crime Stoppers Fugitive Alert Bulletin continues to be published in cooperation with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, Loves Park Police Department and the Rockford Police Department. The bulletin features nine individuals wanted on warrants, and is disseminated throughout Winnebago County by Law Enforcement officers, e-mail, and Postal Services.Click Here to see the latest Fugitive Alert Bulletins

Daniel E. Myers - April 29, 1998

32 year old Daniel Myers, a carpenter, was last seen with friends at Rocky's Tap in Loves Park on April 29, 1998. Daniel's body was found shortly after 10 a.m. on April 30, 1998 lying in the parking lot of Monticello Liquor Store, 2001 Cunningham Street.  He had been shot to death.Daniel's pick-up truck was missing but later found abandoned in the driveway of 411 Stanley Street.No one has been arrested.

Deputy William Goldy

End of Watch: Thursday, April 15, 1965Biographical InfoAge: 40Tour of Duty: 3 yearsBadge Number: Not availableIncident DetailsCause of Death: Heart attackDate of Incident: Thursday, April 15, 1965Weapon Used: Not availableSuspect Info: Not availableDeputy William Goldy suffered a fatal heart attack after arresting a subject and placing him into the squad car. Deputy Goldy had served with the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office for three years.

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Sheriff

Sheriff Gary Caruana served nearly a decade as a Winnebago County Deputy Sheriff. During this time he served as a patrol officer, corrections officer, and process server allowing him to develop an understanding of the workings of the entire department.In the early eighties Sheriff Caruana made the decision to move to the private sector where he began his long time career with United Parcel Service (UPS). Sheriff Caruana rose through the ranks of the corporation. During this growth he also attended college earning a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree. Sheriff Caruana became the Corporate Investigative Security Manager responsible for facilities in Illinois including Chicago, Peoria, and Rockford airports. This responsibility covered 12,000 employees and millions of parcels carried by thousands of vehicles across the state. Sheriff Caruana developed working relationships with Local, State and Federal law enforcement agencies including the post 9/11 master operating security plans within O'Hare, Rockford and Peoria airports.Sheriff Caruana, upon taking the Oath of the Office of Sheriff, in December 2014 recognized the need to develop strong working relationships with all Law Enforcement agencies to include Local, State and Federal Agencies. Sheriff Caruana was instrumental in resurrecting a strong K-9 Program to serve the Citizens of the Winnebago County region. This K-9 Program was funded in part by fundraising efforts through the Crime Stoppers program along with a (Private) Grant. At the present time (5) Deputies and K-9's are assigned to the unit. Sheriff Caruana enhanced the operational efficiency of Public Safety by adding a specialized unit comprised of Sheriffs' Deputies to combat Violent Crime, Narcotics, and gun seizures as well as working in the area of human trafficking. Sheriff Caruana assigned Officers to the FBI Safe Streets Task Force as well as assigning personnel to the Drug Enforcement Agency in a multi-jurisdictional narcotics enforcement role. Sheriff Caruana continues to oversee (unannounced) Saturation Patrols throughout the Winnebago County IL Region with the assistance of numerous Law enforcement agencies in the region as well as the State Level Law Enforcement. These operations are enhanced by the presence of Air-Support on a regular basis during the operation from the U.S. Department of Homeland security. These successful operations have resulted in a tremendous amount of felony arrests, along with Drug and gun seizures making the Winnebago County region a safer place for the Communities.Sheriff Caruana has been a substitute Teacher in the local public school system and has been a volunteer for Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful. Sheriff Caruana is a former commissioner of the Rockford Board of Fire and Police Commissioners. He recently attended the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute for Police. Sheriff Caruana is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy (FBI NA 264.) Sheriff Caruana currently serves on the board of (RAASE) Rockford Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, and serves as President of the Northwest Illinois Law Enforcement Executives Association. Sheriff Caruana is also a member of (ACFE) Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Sheriff Caruana is also a board member of Air-One. 

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