IDAHO CITY, Idaho — The Boise County Sheriff’s Office covers almost 2000 square miles and that presents many challenges.
- Sheriff Scott Turner says response time can be long
- B.C.S.O. covers almost two thousand square miles
- Boise County has no jail
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Boise County Sheriff Scott Turner doesn’t mince his words when it comes to keeping his county safe. “It becomes a struggle for dispatch, they have to get creative in finding resources and finding help. We have mountain ranges that separate our county both north, south, east and west. Depending on the day response time could be five minutes, it could be an hour or it could be an hour and a half," said Turner.
Think of the county as a triangle, you have the county seat, Idaho City, Garden Valley/Crouch and Horseshoe Bend, and little communities in between. “If you leave Idaho City and you take a county road you’re going to cross over two different summits to get to Garden Valley," Turner added.
If you’re doing an official head count,the Boise County Sheriff's Office has nine patrol deputies, three school resource officers, one detective, one chief deputy and one sheriff. Did I mention they don’t even have a jail? Corporal David Gomez told me every time they make an arrest that officer has to drive all the way to the Ada County Jail in Boise and that means they’re off the grid for a long time. “Even if I make an arrest in Idaho City it’s going to be an hour to the jail and then an hour back before I can even start the paperwork," said Gomez.
And as far as any kind of major accident? “Up here you’re going to be on the scene for a half hour to an hour before any of those services show up and they’re volunteers. We don’t have enough volunteers up here," added Gomez.
And an added challenge can be seen from downtown Boise. “Bogus Basin, Bogus Basin fall’s in no man’s land," said Turner.
The popular ski hill at the end of Bogus Basin road is officially in Boise County. In a county that covers almost 2,000 square miles.
“For my deputies to respond all the way out of our county, around through Boise, up Bogus Basin road. Fortunately, Ada County and the state police help us out quite a bit but it is a struggle," added Turner.
With a population of a little over eight thousand people, their property taxes are limited. It’s a small pie to cut up. Sheriff Turner knows his county is a playground. For thousands of people who live in the Treasure Valley, he just asks you show restraint and responsibility and be a good neighbor, because it’s his small department that will come to help when there’s any kind of problem.
Like so many other rural counties in the state, Boise County is always looking for volunteers ,so if you can help out in any way, contact the department in Idaho City,
