Another change is the involvement of the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association with the elected legislative division of the State of Indiana. We have the ability to bring to their attention subjects specifically related to:

• Enforcing enacted laws;
• Introducing legislation regarding costs of maintaining the Jail Division of each Sheriff’s Office;
• Effectively carrying out responsibilities as required by the court system.

Maintaining and sharing information state-wide has seen a dramatic change in our “high tech” era, especially in relationship to:

• Providing current and correct data entered into the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry;
• Cooperating, as a public service, with the Indiana State Amber Alert system in safely recovering abducted children;
• Carrying out our responsibility in complying with the Indiana Statewide Victim Information and Notification Service.

Some things, however, have not changed for the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association. We continue to:

• Provide College Scholarships to qualified students who are committed to pursuing an education and career in the law enforcement field;
• Provide Youth Leadership Camps;
• Provide training opportunities to Sheriffs and department personnel;
• Make every effort to improve our organization’s assistance to the men and women in law enforcement;
• Uphold the high standard of the Office of Sheriff;
• Sponsor conferences for Sheriffs from the State of Indiana, offering opportunities for training, exchanging information, introducing or reviewing various aspects encompassing law enforcement, bringing the Sheriff’s family members together to initiate mutual support, presenting awards in a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere to law enforcement personnel.

As our “high tech” era moves forward, we anticipate more changes. The Indiana Sheriffs’ Association will anticipate and prepare to meet the challenges presented due to these changes.

It is the Indiana Sheriffs' Association mission to help maintain the Office of the Sheriff:

• Through training and education information in the fields of law enforcement, crime prevention and detection, jail management, public safety and civil process to all Indiana Sheriffs.
• Support developing laws and policies that promote public safety to its citizens in Indiana.
• Provide information and technical assistance to the Sheriffs of Indiana to assist them in providing effective and quality law enforcement services to the citizens of Indiana.
• Encourage the involvement of each Sheriff to work towards promoting professionalism and high standards in county law enforcement.
• Promote positive interaction among all criminal justice agencies and associations in an effort to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement services to the citizens of Indiana for the betterment of the law enforcement profession.
• Maintain and enhance the Office of the Sheriff in the State of Indiana.

We also want to direct you to the Indiana Sheriffs' Sex and Violent Offender Registry, www.indianasheriffs.org . Effective January 1, 2003, Zachary's Law requires sheriff's departments to jointly establish and maintain a web site providing detailed information about individuals who are required to register as sex or violent offenders at Indiana sheriff departments (or, in Marion County, the Indianapolis Police Department). The purpose of the registry is to inform the general public about the identity, location, and appearance of sex and violent offenders who live, work, or study in Indiana. The Indiana Sheriffs' Association along with the Indiana Department of Corrections maintains the web site and would ask if you know of a person who had been convicted of one of the offenses that would require listing them on the offender site, but has failed to do so, please contact your local sheriff or our office so this person can be located.