Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Kosciusko County Sheriff's Office is piloting a new program to help children who are involved in incidents that law enforcement responds to.
During a KCSO Merit Board meeting on Thursday, the board discussed KCSO partnering with Warsaw Community Schools, Warsaw Police Department, Lutheran Emergency Medical Services and Winona Lake Police Department to pilot the program, Handle with Care.
KCSO Public Information Officer Sgt. Doug Light said, “The logic behind it is that we’ve found a lot of these events (that officers respond to) for these children will carry over into school, so this will allow us to alert the school to handle that student with care … It’s not for the school to investigate further. It’s simply to alert the school that if that child is struggling to give them a little bit of extra grace.”
Moving forward, there are going to be QR codes that allow officers and EMS workers to fill out a four-question form when they respond to a situation that involves school-aged children. Once filled out, the form is automatically sent to the Warsaw Community Schools' administrative office, where it is then diverted to the appropriate school that the student attends.
This program is run through the Indiana Department of Health and has been successfully implemented in counties throughout Indiana.
If it proves successful in partnership with WCS, KCSO would like to eventually partner with other schools in the county, including Tippecanoe Valley and Wawasee.
Citizen's Academy
Citizen’s Academy will run Nov. 12 through Jan. 21 and be made up of eight sessions. As a partnership between KCSO and WPD, these sessions will alternate between KCSO and WPD. The program is designed to offer first-person experience in law enforcement operations, including SWAT, K-9 demonstrations, traffic stops and the Kosciusko County judicial system. There are 30 total spots in the program, and at least 15 need to be filled by residents of Warsaw. Currently, 24 have applied to take part in the academy.
COLA - Merit Pension
A cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment will also be made annually for those retiring on or after Jan. 1, 2026, with at least 20 years of service. COLA will be made based on inflation to a maximum of 1.5% annually. Recipients cannot receive a COLA until they are at least 55 years old. Beneficiaries who retired before or on Dec. 31, 2025, will not be eligible for COLA. A 13th annual check will provide the COLA payment. There will not be any change to the standard monthly checks.
In other business:
• The board voted to promote Tyler Stringfellow to the rank of sergeant, and Chad Stover to the rank of corporal.
• There is a county auction going on through Metzger Auctions. The public can buy a variety of items, including unclaimed lost and found items, seized property, an extra patrol vehicle, and surplus Kosciusko County Highway Department equipment.
• The Kosciusko County Jail is currently holding between 220 and 240 inmates at a given time. This is in line with other counties in Indiana, as there has been a statewide increase in the number of incarcerated people.
• Patrol took 1,926 calls. They made 30 arrests and 200 traffic stops, and gave out 65 traffic tickets.
• Field Day will be the last Sunday of October and the first Sunday of November. They are annual scenario-based training days hosted by the KCSO for anywhere between 11 and 15 agencies from across Indiana.
• KCSO is looking into having an in-house K-9 trainer. The prices of purchasing, training, and certifying K-9 dogs has been steadily increasing and could potentially been done in-house more economically.
