Photo provided Bartholomew County Sheriff Chris Lane, center, is shown with water rescue team members and sheriff deputies at the scene of one of the water rescues during the early April flooding.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office released its first quarterly report of 2025, marking a change to quarterly updates rather than the previous once-a year summary.
The report provides an update of the sheriff’s office activities in the first quarter and statistics on number of inmates in the Bartholomew County Jail, number of arrests, training statistics, number of calls generated and number of traffic stops, accidents and the types of investigations being pursued during the time period.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Chris Lane noted that while the annual report was an information-packed multi-page document released once a year, the office has now decided that a quarterly report would be more effective in keeping the public up to date about work being completed during the year.
The quarterly report is on a link on the Bartholomew County’s website and also on the sheriff’s office social media page.
This quarterly report focuses on the sheriff’s office response to the EF-2 tornado that drove through Bartholomew County followed by extensive flooding throughout the county from a massive thunderstorm system that dumped multiple inches of rainfall in about a day and half in early April.
Lane thanked city and county firefighters, law enforcement, Columbus Regional Hospital EMS, dispatchers, the county’s emergency management staff and Bartholomew County Highway for efforts to prioritize safety during the tornado and flooding.
“While the flood occurred in the second quarter of 2025, it is included in the report due to its significant impact on the community,” according to the report.
Among the significant events mentioned in the first quarter of the report is the sheriff’s office helping to provide meals to Bartholomew County’s homeless for the “Soups for Souls” effort, organized by Lt. Courtney Fisher.
The report also notes Capt. Chris Roberts graduation from the FBI National Academy in which law enforcement officers receive top tier instruction in a variety of topics.
Deputy Chad Williams and the office’s equipment team have secured a $10,000 grant from the Bartholomew County Health Department to upgrade Project Lifesaver equipment, which is used to find individuals who wander away from their homes.
In the statistical information for the quarter:
- Inmates booked: 651
- Inmates released: 663
- Average daily jail population: 216.56
- Arrests: 340
- Total arrests by all agencies: 652
- Total calls generated: 8,038
- Traffic stops: 1,610
- Traffic crashes: 281
- Civil process (agency wide) 1,440
- Total training hours: 1,667
Additional statistics are available in the report.
