About Us

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is located in Columbiana, Alabama, and employs 220 personnel, including 130 sworn deputies, 67 jail deputies, and 23 civilian employees.  The Sheriff’s Office is the largest law enforcement agency in Shelby County and is led by Sheriff John Samaniego, who is serving in his third term as Sheriff.  The goal of Sheriff Samaniego and all employees is to maintain a professional service agency to assist all who live and visit Shelby County.  The Sheriff’s Office is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the National Institute for Jail Operations (NIJO).  The Sheriff’s Office has four major divisions; Patrol, Criminal Investigations, Administrative and Corrections.

The normal business hours for the Sheriff's Office are Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  

The Sheriff’s Office primary responsibilities are:

Providing law enforcement services for the unincorporated areas of Shelby County, including:

  • Answering calls for service and reports of criminal activity
  • Enforcing applicable state & federal laws 
  • Investigating missing persons
  • Assisting state and federal law enforcement agencies, nearby incorporated cities or other agencies upon request
  • Responding to medical calls
  • Proactively patrolling neighborhoods to prevent criminal acts
  • Traffic control and investigating traffic accidents
  • Conducting criminal investigations
  • Maintaining a Records & Data Bureau
  • Investigating all deaths and delivering death notifications
  • Responding to natural disasters

Serving as an officer of the Court for Shelby County by:

  • Executing judgments and orders for the court
  • Serving bench warrants
  • Bringing adult and juvenile prisoners before the court
  • Returning fugitives from outside the state
  • Securing extradition waivers on criminals apprehended for out of state jurisdictions
  • Summoning all trial and grand jurors
  • Transporting prisoners and patients by order of the court.

Operate and maintains a Jail by:

  • Admitting, processing, searching and photographing all inmates
  • Issuing clothing and bedding to inmates
  • Arranging for health care of inmates
  • Admitting visitors, attorneys, ministers, counselors and bondsmen
  • Coordinating with a nutritionist for balanced inmate meals
  • Transporting inmates to court and per other court issued orders

Participating in the election process by:

  • Serving as a member of the appointing board
  • Serving public notice of state and county elections and any special election called by the Governor
  • Delivering supplies to voting places before polls open
  • Preserving order at all elections except municipal elections
  • Receiving ballots after counting and storing them for safe keeping

Here are a few quick facts about the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office from 2018:

  • Received 89,194 calls for service
  • Documented 5,780 incident offense reports
  • Total motor vehicle accidents were 7,024
  • Issued 4,915 traffic citations
  • Assigned 2,138 cases for investigation
  • Received 7,850 warrants
  • Received 13,532 civil papers
  • Maintained an average of 494 inmates in the jail
  • Issued 15,750 pistol permits