Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe said he is aware most people are under the impression the primary duties of his office involve transporting prisoners and ensuring security at the Butler County Government Center and courthouse.

Slupe and his 34 deputies have an operating budget of $3.35 million. They work with courts and nearly every county row office in a bevy of familiar and lesser-known roles Slupe takes pride in.

“I get to work with a lot of great people in this county to do our part to keep our county safe and provide services to residents and taxpayers,” Slupe said. “A lot of people don't realize the enormity of what our office does. We work with every agency in the county.”

He also serves on the executive committee of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association. Serving his 15th year in office, Slupe said he plans to run for another four-year term.

In a civil process, deputies serve complaints filed in civil court by creditors to people who default on a required payment like a credit card or mortgage payment. Foreclosure notices and levies on personal property and bank accounts are among the complaints.

Scheduling sheriff sales to give creditors the opportunity to recoup their loses is part of the process, Slupe said.

He said his office has had to conduct sales of all sorts of property including vehicles, appliances, livestock and liquor licenses.

The sheriff's office works with the prothonotary's office, which receives and processes civil orders issued by judges, and the tax claim office for tax sales of properties.

“We enforce civil orders,” Slupe said.

Carrying out family court orders involving children and the elderly are among the most challenging jobs for deputies. Serving a judge's order can require deputies to remove a child from a home in a custody case or remove an elderly person from a home for safety reasons, Slupe said.

“We work with judges and court orders for the welfare of children. (Police) can't enforce civil court orders,” Slupe said. “Some people are in crisis; we have to be delicate.”

Serving protection orders places deputies in potentially high-risk situations. Those orders, which are also issued by judges in family court, include protection from abuse, intimidation and sexual violence.

“That's one of the most dangerous things we do,” said Sgt. Eric McCall.

After obtaining a temporary Protection from Abuse order, or PFA, from the domestic relations office, the male or female requesting the PFA goes to the sheriff's office for a 20-question assessment used to determine the dangers deputies might encounter and the safety measures they need to employ when they serve the order.

If a judge grants a final PFA, deputies have to find the defendant, serve the order and explain what the order allows and forbids them from doing, Slupe said. The PFA can remain in effect for up to three years.

When a PFA defendant has weapons and a judge believes those weapons pose a threat in the hands of the defendant, the judge can issue a relinquishment order that gives that person instructions on how to surrender their weapons.

Slupe said deputies are sent to the defendant's home to seize the weapons when an order to relinquish is issued.

“We do it immediately if they have weapons,” he said.

Weapons, evictions, custody matters and no-contact orders are common in PFA cases and add to the potential danger of serving those orders, McCall said.

Storing seized weapons has caused the sheriff's office to expand its evidence room into a second room.

McCall said deputies photograph the weapons and fill out forms listing the weapons, serial and model numbers, and other information and give one copy to the defendant. That information is put in a records management system.

The defendant can file a petition to have the weapons returned after the PFA is dismissed or expires, he said. After a petition is filed, the sheriff's office checks to see if the defendant is wanted on a warrant, which would prohibit the return of the weapons, Slupe said.

PFA orders most often come into play in cases involving intimate partners or family members, and the process to obtain one is similar to the process for Protection from Intimidation, or PFI, and Sexual Violence Protection, or SVP, orders, said Capt. Jodi Thompson. A PFI order can be sought when there is no relationship between the two parties, and SVP orders are sought when sexual violence has been alleged, she said.

In addition, the sheriff’s office has some law enforcement authority. Deputies can’t issue a citation for expired vehicle registrations or inspections, but they can cite a driver involved in a serious traffic incident that affects public safety, Slupe said.

He said his office can investigate a crime if a deputy witnesses the incident.

Transporting inmates in criminal cases can require deputies to travel farther than the short distance across Washington Street between the jail and courthouse.

Using the department's fleet of 16 vehicles, deputies transport inmates between the Butler County Prison and prisons anywhere in the state, and they take county and federal inmates from the county jail to Butler Memorial Hospital and to doctors' offices when they need medical attention. Inmates can be taken to the hospital at anytime, Slupe said.

One of the few instances when deputies don't transport inmates is when they have hearings at district courts. The police department that filed the charges transports the inmate to and from those hearings, he said.

Under a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service, the sheriff's office transports federal inmates held in the county prison to the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh, Slupe said.

Perhaps the most infamous federal inmate was Robert Bowers, who was convicted of killing 11 people and injuring others including police officers in the October 2018 attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Bowers was held in the county jail after he was arrested, and deputies transported him between the jail and the federal court every day during his trial and until he was sentenced to death last fall. He was taken to a federal prison after his sentencing and “left Butler County forever,” Slupe said.

Slupe said he has the last set of handcuffs that deputies used in transporting Bowers, but he hasn’t decided what to do with them.

“These handcuffs were worn by him the day he was sentenced to death,” Slupe said. “I look at this as there's history here somewhere. This was a tragic event, which we hope never happens again in the United States.”

Serving a bench warrant issued by a county judge can send deputies anywhere in the United States.

If someone charged with a crime in the county leaves the state and gets arrested on a county warrant, deputies fly or drive to the location and fly or drive that person back, Thompson said.

“We fly commercial airlines armed,” Thompson said.

Flying can involve layovers in airports requiring deputies to keep the defendant in handcuffs at all times including when they provide food and any needed medication, she said.

Discussing further responsibilities, Slupe said, the sheriff's office works with the clerk of courts office, which receives criminal warrants issued by judges.

Thousands of criminal and civil warrants are issued every year, and Slupe said his office has received as many as 70 to 100 in a single day.

Another responsibility is transporting adults and juveniles charged with probation violations.

And in yet another duty, the sheriff's office processes applications for permits to carry a firearm concealed and issues those permits. Slupe said 8,000 to 10,000 applications have been processed every year for last five years.

Less widely known is that Slupe's office administers licenses to sell firearms and licenses to sell precious metals and gems and enforces court orders issued in protests and labor strikes.

Deputy Brandon Huffman is in charge of K-9 Justice, a 4-year-old German wirehaired pointer whose duties include conducting drug searches in the prison and tracking missing people.

The sheriff's office works with Children and Youth Services includes providing temporary custody of children until a guardian can assume custody. A similar service is provided to the Area Agency on Aging when issues involving older people arise, he said.

Deputies work with the treasurer's office by delivering cash deposits to banks. They work with the recorder of deeds office to issue deeds to properties purchased in sheriff sales.

The sheriff's office also works with the register of wills office regarding guardianship of incapacitated people.

Outside of law enforcement circles, few people likely know the sheriff's office has a role in allowing retired police officers to carry firearms concealed.

Under state law, retired officers have to go to the sheriff's office for a background check and receive a confirmation number if they want to carry a concealed firearm.

Slupe's deputies also conduct Drug Abuse Resistance Education programs at 16 public and private schools in the county; first aid, automatic external defibrillator and CPR training; and qualification testing for school police officers.