The Office of Sheriff was instituted when the State of Iowa was granted Statehood
in 1846. As the only elected law enforcement officer, the Office of Sheriff is unique
in that the Sheriff is directly accountable to the people. The first Polk County
Sheriff, Thomas Mitchell, took the Oath of Office on April 3, 1846. Our current
Sheriff, Bill McCarthy, was elected by the Citizens of Polk County in November 2008,
and took the Oath of Office on January 2, 2009. Read Sheriff’s Bio
Mission Statement
The mission of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office is to preserve the integrity of
the law through proactive community involvement, promoting inmate diversion programs
and maintaining secure custody of inmates. The Office will utilize advances in technology
to detect and solve crimes, enhance public safety communications and above all else,
effectively use all resources available to this Office to protect and serve the
public.