Patrol Division
PATROL DIVISION
The Sheriff's Office Patrol Division is responsible for enforcing the state's criminal and traffic laws throughout Madison County, including all municipalities, even though the cities of Huntsville, Madison, Triana, Owens Cross Roads, New Hope, and Gurley have their police departments. The only cities with significant law enforcement agencies are Huntsville and Madison.
The Madison County Sheriff's Office currently consists of 194 sworn deputy sheriff's positions. Most of these positions are assigned to patrol, where deputies provide law enforcement services throughout the county. Patrol Division Deputies work Hand and Hand with Deputies assigned to the Special Operations Division, Investigations Division, Office of Professional Services Division and the Special Services Division. The department's patrol division consists of three 10-hour shifts, (1st shift 6a-4p) , (2nd shift 3pm-1am), (3rd shift 9pm-7am)which answer calls for service within 16 zoned areas totaling 850 square miles. A lieutenant and two sergeants supervise each shift. Their primary mission is to answer calls for service from citizens and protect the public from criminal activity through proactive patrol operations. They are also responsible for the benefit of criminal processes such as arrest warrants and subpoenas, which the Madison County Court System generates. The patrol division functions are a 24-hour day activity where deputies typically work four days per week, ten hours a day; however, on-call 24 hours a day. Peak times for calls for service are within the hours of 9pm-1am which 2nd and 3rd shift overlaps to provide maximum manpower to handle the call volume.
The agency's K-9 Unit is comprised of Seven deputies. The dogs are dual-purpose, and the team is responsible for various duties. Some of these include highway interdiction, enhanced traffic enforcement, educational programs, and demonstrations for local schools and community events. At times, they also respond to surrounding agencies that request the use of a canine. Each shift is equipped with a K9 and its handler.
The Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit comprises personnel from various areas within the Sheriff's Office. The team responds to calls of hostage situations, barricaded suspects, or any unusual situation requiring specialized training/tactics and equipment. The team is also utilized for arrest or search warrants considered high-risk. Additionally, Crisis / Hostage Negotiators are assigned to the team. These members receive extensive training that equips them to respond to any situation where their services are needed.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone) unit consist of highly trained Patrol Deputies that assist with the protection of lives and property of the citizens by including but not limiting parameters to providing air support in finding missing persons during search and rescue missions, tactical operations, visual reconstruction of crime scenes, locating and apprehending wanted subjects, and any other legal application that benefits from aerial observation to further safeguard the community.
Statistics are one way to understand issues in a community. Management uses this information to gauge crime trends, allocate resources, and make appropriate management decisions. The Madison County Sheriff's Office submits monthly data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for its Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States provide comparable data, improving information reliability for meaningful analysis. The Madison County Sheriff's Office received a total of 67,606 calls for service in 2024. These calls range from residential burglaries, vehicle burglaries, theft of property, personal crimes, property crimes, alarms, warrants served, civil papers, assistance from other agencies, domestic violence, mental commitments, court-ordered evictions, and prisoner transports.
Your Sheriff's Office is the Division F Law Enforcement point of contact for the State of Alabama Department of Homeland Defense. Covering a 10-county region, your sheriff's office oversees equipment packages directed to prevention and response with total equipment benefits totaling 2 million dollars and more. Due to the Sheriff's Office being an Alabama Constitutional office, deputies are not burdened by municipality limits and, when necessary, may cross county lines. Deputies are often called upon to assist agencies in surrounding counties, and when authorized, they enter another county to assist as needed.
Division Commander
Captain Tim Whisante
(256) 533-8833 Office
First Shift Patrol 0600-1600
Lieutenant Morris Holmes
Sergeant Gary Cross
Sergeant Richard Jones
Second Shift Patrol 1500-0100
Lieutenant Ken Williams
Sergeant John Harvey
Sergeant Adam Harmon
Third Shift Patrol 2100-0700
Lieutenant Matthew Causey
Sergeant Travion Ragland
Sergeant Camron Gillespie
Foster a relationship of accountability and transparency in everything we do in the sheriff's office. Strive to mentor employees and create an environment where they maintain the highest standards of honesty and ethics.
Alabama Jail Association
International Association of Chiefs of Police
National Children's Advocacy Center
National Sheriffs' Association