The Fairfield County Sheriff's Department was a law enforcement agency in

Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the List of counties in Connecticut, most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. A ...

, established under the original Constitution of the State of Connecticut. Initially, the Department of Administrative Services was responsible for administering the testing process for special deputy sheriffs However, in December 2000, legislators replaced the sheriffs with the State Marshal Commission under the Department of Administrative Services. The State Marshal Commission was created by Public Act 00-99, in 2000. On November 29, 2000, a constitutional amendment repealed the portion regarding sheriffs. Presently, the 2009 version of the State of Connecticut Constitution does not make a reference to Marshals, and continues to list sheriffs as this role.

Roles and Responsibilities

Their primary duties included; providing security for court houses, carrying out arrest warrants, and transporting prisoners. Unlike Sheriffs in other states, Fairfield County Sheriffs did not act as the primary law enforcement or patrol agencies for areas of the county not served by municipal police departments. However, the department did have law enforcement powers until the modernization of local police. In each of the 8 counties, a high sheriff was elected. A majority vote eliminated the position of High Sheriff (one month later all deputy sheriffs in the state were transferred to the position of State Judicial Marshals under the local county branch) in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

counties after the topic was brought up by then Connecticut state attorney general Richard Blumenthal.

State Marshal Commission

The Commission split the Fairfield County Sheriffs Department into three judicial districts (Fairfield, Stamford-Norwalk, and Danbury), each with its own Chief Judicial

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

. The State Marshal Commission operates within the Department of Administrative Services with independent decision-making authority.

Controversies

Edwin S. Mak

In 1993, Edwin S. Mak, Fairfield County High Sheriff, was investigated for misconduct. In 1994, Alfred J. Rioux was also accused of using his position to require lower ranking sheriffs to pay dues and make campaign contributions.

Attorney General Blumenthal

As a result of Attorney General

Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal (; born February 13, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of ...

's probe into the State of Connecticut's Sheriff Departments, they were disbanded. It was determined that several of the departments were over-billing the State.

Governor Rowland

In 1999, Governor

John G. Rowland John Grosvenor Rowland (born May 24, 1957) is an American politician, author, and convicted felon who served as the 86th Governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004. He served two nonconsecutive prison terms on various corruption charges. A Repu ...

called to abolish the sheriff system in Connecticut.

References

External links

Middlesex County Sheriff's Department
(an example of a former Connecticut county sheriff's department)
A View of the Fairfield County Courthouse
(google street view) {{Law enforcement agencies in Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County, Connecticut Defunct law enforcement agencies of Connecticut Defunct sheriffs' departments of the United States Sheriffs' departments of Connecticut