These functions of the Sheriff's Department are the responsibility of the Civil Division. The Civil Division is located in San Luis Obispo County Government Center, San Luis Obispo, California. The government center is also the home of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, the District Superior and Municipal courts, District Attorney's Office, County Clerk, Tax Collector, County Recorder, and other county departments. The Civil Division Commander Lieutenant Benjamin Hall, is responsible for Administering the mandates placed upon the division. Fourteen of the deputies are assigned as bailiffs whose primary responsibility is to provide court security, while the remaining five deputies work in the field serving civil process.
Bailiffs provide security in fifteen courts throughout the county.
Although the government center is the seat of the county where most of the court proceedings are heard, there are outlying courts in Paso Robles, Grover Beach, the Juvenile Services Center, and the San Luis Obispo Veterans Hall in San Luis Obispo. Bailiffs must maintain strict discipline in the courtroom regardless of the nature of the proceeding before the court. These proceedings vary from traffic court, small claims and other civil matters, to high profile, highly publicized criminal cases involving numerous defendants and large audiences. Deputies serving civil process manage a heavy case load that includes service of civil process paperwork on often reluctant individuals and companies. Types of service include evictions, levies, subpoenas, and other legal process.