Sheriff Hart Appoints New Undersheriff

On January 12, 2015, before a packed audience of family and friends at the Center for Public Safety in Santa Cruz, Sheriff Hart swore in the new Santa Cruz County Undersheriff Jeremy Verinsky.

Undersheriff Jeremy Verinsky joined the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office in 1995 as a Reserve Deputy Sheriff. He was hired as a full time Deputy Sheriff in 1997 and served in patrol and Community Policing as a School Resource Officer.

Undersheriff Verinsky was promoted to Sergeant in 2003 where he had stints in patrol, Community Policing, Investigations and the Administration Bureau.

Undersheriff Verinsky was promoted to Lieutenant in 2011, and was assigned to the Corrections Bureau as a Main Jail Commander and leader of the Custody Alternatives Program.

Undersheriff Verinsky promoted to Chief Deputy in December 2012 and ran the Corrections Bureau until October 2014, overseeing three custody facilities with an average daily population of 510 inmates, as well as the court security and inmate transport units.

During his tenure with the Sheriff’s Office, Undersheriff Verinsky has been a Range Master, Alternate Field Training Officer and SWAT Team Member. As a Sergeant, Undersheriff Verinsky ran the Search and Rescue Team, the Firearms Team and served as a Team Leader on the SWAT Team. As a Lieutenant, Undersheriff Verinsky has been instrumental in adopting the Lexipol policy manual for the Operations Bureau and development of the CAP Team in the Corrections Bureau.

Since October 2014, Undersheriff Verinsky has been in charge of the Administration Bureau, which is responsible for the Records, Civil, Recruiting and Hiring, Professional Standards and Fiscal units of the Office. In his new role, Undersheriff Verinsky serves as second in command to Sheriff Jim Hart in overseeing the operations of the Sheriff’s Office.