History

The Office of the 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, Kevin J. Schneider, was appointed by the Polk County Board of Supervisors in December, 2018, and took the Oath of Office on December 18, 2018.