The Road Patrol Division consists of 20 Deputies, 4 Sergeants and 2 Lieutenants.  The Division is supervised by the Operations Captain.

Road Patrol Deputies are the primary law enforcement responders for 17 Townships and 7 Villages in Wood County. They are secondary responders to 11 Villages in the county that have only part-time law enforcement coverage. The Deputies are empowered with the same authority as the Sheriff when they are sworn in. Thus, they have jurisdiction anywhere in Wood County to include all cities and villages. Should another Wood County law enforcement agency call for assistance, the deputies can assist them without jurisdictional problems.

The road patrol handles the following incidents: criminal complaints, civil complaints, deaths, missing persons, 911 hang-up calls, alarms, loose animals, dog bites, vacation checks, motorist assistance, traffic control, vehicle crashes on public and private property, traffic enforcement, funeral escorts, lost property and numerous other law enforcement and non-criminal related activities.

For patrol purposes the county is divided into four areas. Deputies are assigned an area by their Sergeant at the beginning of their shift. Depending on the time and the shift there may be more than one deputy in an area. Deputies rotate assigned areas each shift. This allows them to be familiar with all roads and areas in the county. Each road patrol deputy is assigned a marked Sheriff’s cruiser.  Due to the vast area covered, each deputy drives an average of 35,000 to 40,000 miles per year.

Contact Information:

Captain Greg Panning
Office: (419) 354-1246
Email: gpanning@woodcountyohio.gov