Ventura County Sheriff Department provides law enforcement, emergency, detention services and other investigative services for Ventura County in California. Its general responsibilities include preservation of the peace, apprehension of offenders and detention of offenders. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department is comprised of sworn personnel and general employees. Sworn personnel are persons who have completed the six-month course at the training academy and have obtained peace officer status. General employees are all employees who do not have peace officer status, including office staff, sheriff service technicians, dispatchers, record clerks, jail cooks, cadets and student aides. The Office of the Sheriff for Ventura County began in February, 1873, with the election of Sheriff Frank Peterson. The department maintains headquarters in Ventura, Calif. Ventura County is located in Southern California and has a population of more than 750,000 residents.