Notorious gangster John Dillinger was held in the Lake County jail from January 1934 to March, when he escaped.

[10] In 2016, Sheriff John Buncich was indicted on federal public corruption and bribery charges.

[14] In February 2024, Martinez pleaded guilty to reckless driving, a misdemeanor, in exchange for a felony charge of resisting law enforcement to be dropped by prosecutors and was sentenced to sixty days probation.

[17] The department also has a number of Special Operations Units with specifically trained personnel assigned for Aquatics Underwater Recovery and Rescue, Aviation, Bomb Squad, Chaplains, K-9, Marine, Tactical (SWAT) and a mobile communications Command Center.

[26] In the history of the Lake County Sheriff's Department, seven officers have been killed in the line of duty.