The Chatham County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States, established in 1732. The title of Sheriff adopted in 1788. Up until this time, the position was known as a Bailiff and later Provost. The Office of the Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county and elected every four years.

At one time, there were separate elected sheriffs for Superior and State courts. A Judge appointed the sheriffs for Magistrate court. In 1985, all three sheriff's Offices combined to form the current Office

The Office of the Sheriff is mandated by law to perform certain functions for the County. One of which is to maintain the County Detention Center. The Sheriff is mandated to execute all warrants, civil processes, subpoenas, and writs delivered to him by the courts. CCSO currently provides this service to Recorders, Magistrate, State, Probate, Superior and Juvenile courts, serving 18 Judges.

The Corrections Bureau of the Chatham County Sheriff's Office, and its inmate population, has significantly evolved over the past 30 years. For 90 years, the jail was located on Habersham Street next to the Savannah Police Department. Its capacity was approximately 300 inmates and averaged about 270 inmates daily.

In 1978, the jail moved to Montgomery Street next to the Chatham County Judicial Complex. This facility had an inmate capacity of 381 inmates. Unfortunately, this facility was not large enough and as a result, was soon exceeding its capacity. As a result, a federal court order mandated a maximum amount of inmates allowed. It then became necessary to expand the capacity to satisfy the court order. In 1988, the Chatham County Detention Center (CCDC) opened off Chatham Parkway. In 1989, it became necessary to expand the facility to handle the volume of inmates and construction began on units 1, 2, 3 and 4, completed in 1993. Construction began on units 6, 7, 8 and 9 in 2010, completed in 2012 providing accommodations for 2,433 inmates. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, our inmate population is averaging 1,300 daily.

Click for Large Image Chatham County Sheriff's Office Complex, Present Day

 

NAME	TITLE	SERVED
Peter Gordon	Bailiff	1732 — 1734
Thomas Causton	Bailiff	1735 — 1738
Henry Parker	Bailiff
Thomas Christie	Bailiff
Henry Parker	Bailiff	1741 — 1751
Samuel Mercer	Bailiff
William Pussell	Bailiff
Alexander Kellet	Provost	1754 — 1756
William Knox	Provost
Alexander Kellet	Provost
William Knox	Provost	1759 — 1760
Matthew Roche	Provost	1761 — 1770
Samuel Smith	Provost	1771 — 1772
Lewis Johnston	Provost	1773 — 1777
John Martin	Provost	1778 — 1780
Lewis Johnston	Provost
James Fields	Provost
Edward Lloyd	Provost	1783 — 1787
Samuel Elbert	Sheriff
Edward Lloyd	Sheriff	1789 — 1795
Thomas Norton	Sheriff	1796 — 1797
Richard Wall	Sheriff	1798 — 1799
Ben Wall	Sheriff	1800 — 1801
Thomas Norton	Sheriff	1802 — 1803
Peter Shick	Sheriff	1804 — 1806
Thomas Robertson	Sheriff	1807 — 1808
John Eppinger	Sheriff	1809 — 1811
Green H. Dukes	Sheriff	1812 — 1813
John B. Norris	Sheriff	1814 — 1815
Adam Cope	Sheriff	1816 — 1817
George L. Cope	Sheriff	1818 — 1819
Issac D'Lyon	Sheriff	1820 — 1826
George Millen	Sheriff	1827 — 1829
John J. Dews	Sheriff	1830 — 1831
George Millen	Sheriff	1832 — 1833
John J. Dews	Sheriff	1834 — 1835
Adam Cope	Sheriff	1836 — 1837
William Herb	Sheriff	1838 — 1839
Elisha Wylly	Sheriff	1840 — 1841
John E. Davis	Sheriff	1842 — 1843
George Wylly	Sheriff	1844 — 1845
Elisha Wylly	Sheriff	1846 — 1847
W.W. Cates	Sheriff	1848 — 1849
E.M. Pendergrast	Sheriff	1850 — 1851
John Devanny	Sheriff	1852 — 1853
Alexander Thomas	Sheriff	1854 — 1855
Benjamin L. Cole	Sheriff
Warren Russell	Sheriff	1857 — 1858
Benjamin L. Cole	Sheriff	1859 — 1868
James Dooner	Sheriff	1869 — 1870
George Barthelmess	Sheriff	1871 — 1872
John T. Ronan	Sheriff	1873 — 1899
Thomas J. Sweeney	Sheriff
John Schwartz	Sheriff	1901 — 1906
Thos. F. Screven	Sheriff	1907 — 1912
Merritt W. Dixon	Sheriff	1913 — 1931
Lucius K. Meldrim	Sheriff	1932 — 1937
Wilkes S. MacFeeley	Sheriff	1937 — 1948
William H. Harris	Sheriff	1949 — 1960
Carl A. Griffin	Sheriff	1960 — 1984
Walter Mitchell	Sheriff	1984 — 1992
Al St. Lawrence	Sheriff	1992 — 2015
Roy Harris	Sheriff	2015 — 2016
John T. Wilcher	Sheriff	2016 —