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In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, a
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
is an official in a
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
or
independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
responsible for keeping the peace and enforcing the law. Unlike most officials in
law enforcement in the United States Law enforcement in the United States is one of three major components of the criminal justice system of the United States, along with courts and corrections. Although each component operates semi-independently, the three collectively form a cha ...
, sheriffs are usually
elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
, although some states have laws requiring certain law enforcement qualifications of candidates. Elected sheriffs are accountable directly to the citizens of their county, the constitution of their state, and ultimately the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
. The responsibilities of sheriffs and their agencies vary considerably by county. Many sheriffs have the role of a
police chief The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...
, though some lead agencies with limited law enforcement duties. Sheriffs are also often responsible for managing county jails and security at local government buildings.


Overview


Sheriff's offices

The
law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...
headed by a sheriff is most commonly referred to as the "Sheriff's Office", while some are instead called the "Sheriff's Department." According to the
National Sheriffs' Association The National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) is a U.S. trade association. Its stated purpose is to raise the level of professionalism among U.S. sheriffs, their deputies and others in the fields of criminal justice and public safety. Since its found ...
, an American sheriff's
advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
, there were 3,081 sheriff's offices . These range in size from very small (one- or two-person) forces in sparsely populated rural areas to large, full-service law enforcement agencies, such as the
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
, which is the largest sheriff's office and the seventh largest law enforcement agency in the United States, with 16,400 members and 400 reserve deputies. A regular officer of a sheriff's office is typically known as a deputy sheriff, sheriff's deputy or informally as a deputy. In a small sheriff's office, the deputies are supervised directly by the sheriff. Large sheriff's offices have several ranks in a similar manner to a police department. The
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
has thousands of regular deputies, who are eight ranks below the sheriff. The actual second-in-command of the sheriff typically holds the title of
chief deputy Chief Deputy is a rank/title used in American/Canadian law enforcement. The position of chief deputy is primarily found within sheriff's offices throughout the United States, and also exists for marshals’ police departments as well as constable ...
or
undersheriff An undersheriff (or under-sheriff) is an office derived from ancient English custom that remains in, among other places, England and Wales and the United States, though performing different functions. United States In American law enforcement, ...
. In some counties, the undersheriff is the
warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...
of the
county jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...
.


Election

Of the 50
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s, 48 have sheriffs. The two exceptions are
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, which does not have counties, and
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 ...
, which replaced its with the
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
and judicial marshals in 2000..
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and the five
territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
also do not have county governments. Sheriffs are elected to four-year terms in 43 states, two-year terms in
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, three-year terms in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, and six-year terms in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
. Sheriffs are appointed instead of elected in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
,
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
and a small number of counties elsewhere. In many rural areas of the United States, particularly in the
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, the sheriff has traditionally been viewed as one of a given county's most influential political office-holders. Research shows that sheriffs have a substantial incumbency advantage in elections. An incumbent sheriff has a "45 percentage point boost in the probability of winning the next election – far exceeding the advantages of other local offices." Relative to appointed police chiefs, sheriffs hold office for twice as long.


Duties

The role of a sheriff's office varies considerably from state to state and even from county to county. Sheriffs and their deputies are sworn peace officers with the power to make arrests and serve before a
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
or
judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
, serve warrants for arrest or order for arrest, and give a ticket/citation. Some states extend this authority to adjacent counties or to the entire state. In a small sheriff's office, the sheriff is likely to carry out law enforcement duties just like a regular deputy or police officer. In medium-sized or large sheriff's office, this is rare. Many sheriff's offices also perform other functions such as traffic control, animal enforcement, accident investigations, homicide investigation, narcotics investigation, transportation of prisoners, school resource officers, search and rescue, and courthouse security. Larger departments may perform other criminal investigations or engage in other specialized law enforcement activities. Some larger sheriff's departments may have
aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
(including fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters), motorcycle units, K9 units, tactical units, mounted details, or water patrols at their disposal. In some areas of the country, such as in California's
San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...
,
Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
,
Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
, Sierra, Tulare and Ventura counties, the sheriff's office also has the responsibility of a
coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
's office, and is charged with recovering deceased persons within their county and conducting
autopsies An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...
. The official in charge of such sheriff's departments is typically titled sheriff-coroner or sheriff/coroner, and officers who perform this function for such departments are typically titled deputy sheriff-coroner or deputy coroner. Many sheriff's departments enlist the aid of local neighborhoods, using a
community policing Community policing, or community-oriented policing (COP), is a strategy of policing that focuses on developing relationships with community members. It is a philosophy of full-service policing that is highly personal, where an officer patrols ...
strategy, in working to prevent crime. The National Neighborhood Watch Program, sponsored by the National Sheriffs' Association, allows civilians and law enforcement officers to cooperate in keeping communities safe. Sheriff's offices may coexist with other county level law enforcement agencies such as
county police County police, often (but not always) called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of th ...
or county park police.


Sheriff's categories

Sheriffs in the United States generally fall into three broad categories: *Restricted service – provide basic court related services such as keeping the
county jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...
, transporting
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
ers, providing
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
security and other duties with regard to service of process and summonses that are issued by county and state
court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
s. The sheriff also often conducts public auction sales of
real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...
in
foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan. Formally, a mortg ...
in many jurisdictions, and is often also empowered to conduct seizures of chattel property to satisfy a
judgment Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...
. In other jurisdictions, these civil process duties are performed by other officers, such as a
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 ...
or
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
. *Limited service – along with the above, perform some type of traditional law-enforcement function such as investigations and patrol. This may be limited to
security police Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties. Security police protect facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and enforce cer ...
duties on county properties (and others by contract) to the performance of these duties in
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
s of the county, and some
incorporated area The United States Census Bureau defines a place as a concentration of population which has a name, is locally recognized, and is not part of any other place. A place typically has a residential nucleus and a closely spaced street pattern, and it fr ...
s by contract. *Full service – The most common type, provide all traditional law-enforcement functions, including countywide patrol and investigations irrespective of municipal boundaries. There are two federal equivalents of the sheriff; the first is the
United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforc ...
, an agency of the
Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
. There are 94 United States Marshals, one for each federal judicial district. The U.S. Marshal and his or her Deputy Marshals are responsible for the transport of prisoners and security for the
United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
s, and also issue and enforce certain civil processes. The other is the
Marshal of the United States Supreme Court The Marshal of the United States Supreme Court heads the United States Supreme Court Police, a security police service answerable to the court itself rather than to the president or attorney general. They handle security for the Supreme Court ...
who performs all court related duties for the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
.


Sheriffs by state


Alabama

In Alabama, a sheriff is an elected official and the chief law enforcement officer in any given county. There is one sheriff for each of Alabama's 67 counties, with a varying number of deputies and various staff members (usually dependent on the population). A sheriff's office generally provides law-enforcement services to unincorporated towns and cities within the boundaries of the counties.


Alaska

The office of sheriff does not exist in Alaska by the State's Constitution. Instead the functions that would be performed by lower-48 sheriffs and their deputies (such as civil process, court security, and prisoner transport) are performed by
Alaska State Troopers The Alaska State Troopers, officially the Division of Alaska State Troopers (AST), is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Alaska State Troopers is a full-se ...
and Alaska DPS Judicial Services Officers, who are the equivalent of bailiffs in lower-48 jurisdictions. AJS officers wear uniforms similar to troopers and staff district court facilities statewide but not magistrate's courts. Their peace officer status is limited to courthouses and when transporting prisoners in custody. Additionally, with no county jails, Alaska Dept. Of Corrections runs regional prisons which have separate male and female inmate "pretrial wings", which keep pretrial inmates who are legally innocent, separate from convicted prisoners who are serving a court imposed sentence following a criminal conviction. Pretrial wing units are the AK equivalent of lower-48 county jails. This uniquely makes AK DOC officers both correctional officers and jailers. Pretrial units house persons charged who are formally charged with crimes and remanded to pretrial custody, vs. traditional prisons for persons convicted and sentenced to a term of incarceration.


Arizona

In Arizona, a sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of one of the 15 counties of the state, with a varying number of deputies and assorted staff (usually dependent on population). A constitutional officer specifically established by the
Arizona Constitution The Constitution of the State of Arizona is the governing document and framework for the State of Arizona. The current constitution is the first and only adopted by the state of Arizona. History The Arizona Territory was authorized to hold a ...
, a sheriff, who heads a sheriff's office (
Pima County Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the populati ...
uses the term "sheriff's department" instead), generally provides law enforcement services to unincorporated towns and cities within the boundaries of their county, maintains the county jail, and conducts all service of process for the
Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...
division for that county. In addition, many sheriff's offices have agreements with the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) and local police agencies to provide for the transport and detention of prisoners. After sentencing, many convicted persons are remanded over to the ADC to serve their sentence, but this has not always been the case. Arizona is unique in that many sheriff's offices have formed semi-permanent
posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...
units which can be operated as a reserve to the main deputized force under a variety of circumstances, as opposed to solely for fugitive retrieval as is historically associated with the term. The
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) is the law enforcement agency that serves Maricopa County, Arizona, and is the largest sheriff's office in Arizona. The MCSO provides patrol services and criminal investigation to unincorporated areas ...
(MCSO) is the largest sheriff's office in Arizona, with 575 sworn officers and 2,735 civilian and detention employees . MCSO is headed by Sheriff Paul Penzone.


Arkansas

In Arkansas, sheriffs and their deputies are fully empowered peace officers with county-wide jurisdiction and thus, may legally exercise their authority in unincorporated and incorporated areas of a county. Under state law, sheriffs and their deputies, as well as all other law enforcement and peace officers, are on-duty 24 hours a day, meaning they can make arrests with or without a warrant (provided the warrant-less arrest is a result of a violation of law committed in their presence or view). The duties of an Arkansas sheriff generally include providing law enforcement services to residents, managing county jail(s), and providing bailiffs for the county, district, circuit, and other courts within the county. By Arkansas Law, the Sheriff is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the county. There are 75 county sheriffs in Arkansas, one for each county, regardless of its population size. With very limited exceptions, sheriffs and their deputies may exercise their official authority only within the geographical boundaries of their specific county. The office of sheriff was created by the state constitution and the office has not been substantially changed in 100 years. Sheriffs in Arkansas are elected in even numbered years by citizens of their county to serve a term of four years in office in accordance with the state constitution. Sheriffs rely upon the county's legislative body, known as the "
Quorum Court Commissioners' court, or in Arkansas a quorum court, is the governing body of Local government in the United States, county government in three US states: Arkansas, Texas and Missouri. It is similar in function to a board of county commissioners. A ...
", to appropriate funding and approve the yearly operating budget. However, in all other circumstances, the sheriff is entirely independent in the management of his elected office and is not subservient to or accountable to any other elected county official or body. Under Arkansas law, a sheriff cannot campaign for reelection while wearing a county owned badge.


California

In
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, a sheriff is an elected official and the chief law enforcement officer in any given county. The sheriff's department of each county polices
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
s (areas of the county that do not lie within the jurisdiction of a police department of an incorporated municipality). As such, the sheriff and his or her deputies in rural areas and unincorporated municipalities are equivalent to police officers in the cities. The sheriff's department may also provide policing services to incorporated cities by contract (see
contract city Contract city is a term used in some U.S. states for a city that contracts for the provision of one or more municipal services with another unit of government or with a private or commercial organization. Lakewood Lakewood, California was incor ...
). Sheriff's departments in California are also responsible for enforcing criminal law on Native American tribal land, as prescribed by
Public Law 280 Public Law 280 (, August 15, 1953, codified as , , and ), is a federal law of the United States establishing "a method whereby States may assume jurisdiction over reservation Indians," as stated in '' McClanahan v. Arizona State Tax Commission'' ...
, which was enacted in 1953. The law transferred the responsibility of criminal law enforcement on tribal land from the federal government to state governments in specified states. All
peace officers A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, prose ...
in California are able to exercise their police powers anywhere in the state, on or off duty, regardless of county or municipal boundaries, thus California sheriffs and their deputies have full police powers in incorporated and unincorporated municipalities, outside their own counties, and on state freeways and interstates. Before 2000, there was a
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
or
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 ...
in most (but not all) of California's 58 counties. The constable or marshal was responsible for providing
bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
s to the Municipal and Justice Courts and for serving criminal and civil process. During a reorganization of the state judicial system early in the first decade of the 21st century, the roles of constable, marshal, and sheriff were merged, so that California sheriffs assumed the duties of most marshals, and the position of constable was eliminated entirely. The marshals offices continued to exist in only three counties— Shasta,
Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
, and San Benito—where they perform all court-security and warrant-service functions.


Los Angeles County

The
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
(LASD) serves
Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...
. With over 18,000 employees, it is the largest sheriff's department in the United States and provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, serving as the equivalent of the city police for unincorporated areas of the county as well as incorporated cities within the county who have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services (known as "contract cities" in local jargon). It also holds primary jurisdiction over facilities operated by Los Angeles County, such as local parks, marinas and government buildings; provides
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 ...
service for the
Superior Court of California Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by t ...
,
County of Los Angeles Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is th ...
; operates the
county jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...
system; and provides services such as laboratories and academy training to smaller law enforcement agencies within the county.


San Francisco

Because the
City and County of San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
are consolidated and coterminous—the only consolidated city and county in California—the San Francisco Sheriff historically possessed law enforcement authority. However, as the San Francisco Police Department provides general police service for the city, the Sheriff's Department handles judicial duties, staffs the jail, and provides law enforcement services for city facilities such as
San Francisco City Hall San Francisco City Hall is the seat of government for the City and County of San Francisco, California. Re-opened in 1915 in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, it is a Beaux-Arts monument to the City Beautiful movement that epitomi ...
and San Francisco General Hospital. San Francisco Sheriff's deputies back up the San Francisco Police as needed, as well as make arrests for criminal and vehicle-code violations while performing their duties.
Ross Mirkarimi Rostam Mirkarimi (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician and the former sheriff of San Francisco. Prior to being sheriff, he served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, where he represented District 5. Mirkarimi is a co-founder ...
is a former sheriff of San Francisco.


Colorado


Denver

The Denver Sheriff Department maintains the county correctional facilities as well as court functions. Law enforcement and investigations are the responsibility of the
Denver Police Department The Denver Police Department (DPD) is the full service police department jointly for the City and County of Denver, Colorado, which provides police services to the entire county, including Denver International Airport, and may provide contractu ...
. Denver's sheriff is appointed by the mayor, and serves as the sworn head of the sheriff department. Denver has had deputy sheriffs since the creation of the City & County of Denver in 1902, however the Denver Sheriff Department current organization was not established until 1969, consolidating all of the sheriff's functions under one management structure. The Denver Sheriff is, along with Broomfield's, an anomaly within the state. In every other county, the Sheriff is an elected official and is the chief law enforcement officer of his county.


Broomfield

Broomfield's Sheriff is appointed, like Denver's. Unlike Denver, Broomfield's Sheriff is simultaneously the chief of police, and police officers are simultaneously sheriff's deputies. The police department handles all duties normally carried out by a county sheriff's office, such as operating the county jail (detention center), civil process, and security/bailiff services for the municipal, county, and district courts and the Broomfield Combined Courts Building.


Connecticut

Connecticut abolished county sheriffs in 2000 by Public Act 00–01. All civil-process-serving deputies were sworn in as Connecticut State Marshals, and criminal special deputies were sworn in as Connecticut Judicial Marshal. Constables remain municipal officers governed by their respective town or city. A few towns have local sheriffs that primarily perform process serving duties and may act as a
sergeant at arms Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other un ...
for town meetings. Prior to the abolition of county sheriffs in 2000, duties of sheriffs in Connecticut were limited to process serving, court bailiffs, and executing search and arrest warrants. Other law enforcement duties, such as emergency response, highway patrol and traffic enforcement, and maintaining public order were left to municipal police departments or constables or the Connecticut State Police in places where no local police agency exists.


Delaware

The first
Constitution of Delaware The Constitution of the State of Delaware of 1897 is the fourth and current governing document for Delaware state government and has been in effect since its adoption on June 4 of that year. Executive The Governor is the executive officer of the ...
in 1776 made the sheriff a
conservator of the peace In ancient British customs, Conservators of the Peace (Latin: ''Custodes pacis''), or Wardens of the Peace, were individuals who had a special charge, by virtue of their office, to see that the King's peace was kept. England The 18th century lega ...
within the county in which he resides, either New Castle,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, or
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
. The sheriff was, and still is, chosen by the citizens of each county at the general elections to serve a four-year term. Per Title 10, Chapter 21 of the Delaware Code, the Sheriff is an officer of the court. Responsibilities include processing orders of the court system; summoning inquests, jurors, and witnesses for the courts; and, conducting execution sales against personal and real estate property. County Sheriffs and their regular appointed deputies also take into custody unincarcerated persons immediately upon conviction of an imprisonable offense and convey them to the appropriate correctional facility to serve their terms. The County Sheriffs and their deputies do not engage in typical law enforcement; their primary role is to provide enforcement services for the courts. Typical law enforcement, such as the enforcement of motor vehicle laws, investigation of crimes and routine policing patrols are performed by state, county, and municipal (town or city) police forces. "Delaware sheriffs since 1897 have not had arrest powers and instead act as ministerial officers serving subpoenas and other papers for the courts." Delaware county sheriffs' limitation of powers has been a subject of controversy over the years.


District of Columbia

There is no appointed or elected Sheriff in the District of Columbia because, as a
federal district A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they e ...
, it is in a unique and complicated position compared to other jurisdictions in the United States. As the District Government is both an agency of the Federal Government and a duly-elected Local Government under the D.C. Home Rule Act of 1973, there are many functions which would normally be reserved for the Office of the Sheriff, which are instead delegated to various other agencies. The
United States Marshal Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...
, as an agent of the Federal Government officially handles most court and civil processes in the District of Columbia, while the
District of Columbia Protective Services Police Department The District of Columbia Protective Services Division (formerly, the Protective Services Police Department) is a division of the Department of General Services of the District of Columbia Government. The organization is responsible for ...
(PSPD) handles many other functions normally reserved for the Office of the Sheriff on behalf of the elected local government.


Florida

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
sheriffs are one of a handful of "constitutional" Florida offices; that is, the position was established as part of the Florida State constitution, which specifies their powers and that they be elected in the general ballot. The sheriff's office is responsible for law enforcement, corrections, and court services within the county. Although each county sheriff's office is an independent agency, they all wear the "Florida's sheriff green" uniform with similar badges and patches, and drive vehicles with green and gold designs, as prescribed in Florida State Statutes, with the exception of Duval and Miami-Dade. Collier County also does not wear green; they wear a grey uniform with green accents.


Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade County (formerly Dade County) has two directors appointed by its county commission. In Miami-Dade County, the duties of the two appointed directors are split as follows: *One director is simultaneously the metropolitan director and the director of public safety. The director of public safety serves as the chief of the Miami-Dade Police Department (separate from the
City of Miami Police Department The Miami Police Department (MPD), also known as the City of Miami Police Department, is a full-service municipal law enforcement agency serving Miami, Florida. MPD is the largest municipal police department in Florida. MPD officers are distingu ...
). *The other director serves in command of corrections (of th
Miami-Dade Department of Corrections
and is charged with the care and custody of prisoners.


Duval County

Upon the consolidation of Duval County and the
City of Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
governments in 1968, the Duval County Sheriff's Department and the Jacksonville Police Department were merged into a single unified law enforcement agency styled the
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) is a joint city-county law enforcement agency, which has primary responsibility for law enforcement, investigation, and corrections within the consolidated City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida, Uni ...
(JSO). Commanded by the elected Sheriff of Duval County, and an appointed senior staff, its 1675 sworn members are referred to as "police officers" rather than deputies. All JSO police officers are also deputy sheriffs, in order to perform those duties Florida solely permits "sheriffs and their deputies" to perform, such as serving warrants. Similarly, the 800 members of the JSO's Department of Corrections are "Correctional Officers"
Michael Williams
is the current Sheriff. JSO police and corrections uniforms are dark navy blue, with silver devices for police and corrections officers and gold for supervisory and command personnel. Marked JSO vehicles are white with a broad gold stripe on each side with the word "SHERIFF" displayed in navy blue on each rear quarter-panel and "POLICE" in navy blue on the rear of the vehicle. In 2007, in terms of sworn officers, JSO was the 25th largest local police agency in the US, and the second largest in the state of Florida.


Broward County

The
Broward Sheriff's Office The Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) is a public safety organization With 5,400 employees, it is the largest sheriff's department in the state of Florida. Sheriff Gregory Tony heads the agency. BSO was one of the United States' largest fully ...
is currently under the direction of Sheriff
Gregory Tony } Gregory Scott Tony (born 1978) is an American law enforcement officer and the 17th Sheriff of Broward County, Florida. Tony was initially appointed sheriff in 2019 by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, to fill a vacancy. In November 2020, T ...
. In April 2020, the Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association -- a 1,400-member branch of the
International Union of Police Associations International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * International (Kevin Michael album), ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * International (New Order album), ' ...
-- announced a vote of
no-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
by its officers in Tony. In June 2020, the union wrote governor DeSantis to formally request that Tony be removed. The sheriff has an undersheriff and several district chiefs, also called district commanders. These individuals generally hold the title of "captain." It is a full-service law enforcement agency. The Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) also directs and oversees the fire/rescue/EMS operations for the county, referred to Broward County Fire Rescue (BSO or County Fire Rescue). Overseeing the operation of the Fire/Rescue/EMS Division is a fire chief and several deputy chiefs. BSO Fire Rescue serves unincorporated parts of the county as well as municipalities under contract for fire/rescue/EMS. BSO also operates several helicopters that serve a dual purpose. Each helicopter is suited for law enforcement duties as well as medical evacuation (MEDEVAC); the helicopters are staffed both by sworn deputies as well as a flight nurse or flight medic. BSO also has a professional Marine Patrol, motor (cycle) patrol and mounted (horse) patrol. The Broward Sheriff's office also contracts its law enforcement duties to municipalities that either have no local police department or have disbanded the local police department to be incorporated to BSO.


Orange County

The Orange County Sheriff's Office is the chief law enforcement agency for
Orange County, Florida Orange County is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,429,908, making it Florida's fifth most populous county. The county seat is Orlando. Orange County is the central county ...
. The office is large, with a budget of more than $300 million and over 2,700 sworn and civilian employees. The current sheriff, John Mina, was elected in a 2018 special election, and is the chief law enforcement officer of Orange County responsible for the safety of over one million residents and the more than 72 million tourists that visit Orange County each year.


Georgia

Sheriffs and his or her deputies and any other state certified peace officer may make an arrest on or off duty only after stating that they are peace officers in the state of Georgia. One of five county officials listed in the state constitution, sheriffs in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
are full-service county officers. Article IX, Section I of the constitution specifies that sheriffs "shall be elected by the qualified voters of their respective counties for a term of four years and shall have such qualifications, powers and duties as provided by general law." However, several metropolitan counties have opted to form a
county police County police, often (but not always) called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of th ...
to perform law enforcement functions leaving the sheriff to court functions. Others also have a county marshal who provide civil law enforcement. Even with other agencies in the same county, such as county police, the Sheriff is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of each county. All law enforcement officers in Georgia have statewide jurisdiction if the crime happens in their immediate presence, but sheriffs have statewide jurisdiction also if the crime originated in their county. This means if someone breaks the law in one county and flees to another the sheriff can go anywhere inside the state to investigate the crime, make the arrest, and transport the accused back to the original county. Most of the qualifications, powers and duties of a sheriff in Georgia are detailed in Title 15, Chapter 16 of state law. Among other things, the law states that "the sheriff is the basic law enforcement officer of the several counties of this state." Section 10 makes it clear that the sheriff has as much authority within municipalities as he does in unincorporated areas of his county, although many sheriffs refrain from performing standard law-enforcement functions within municipalities that have their own police department unless specifically requested to do so, or are required to do so in order to fulfill other provisions in state law. In addition to law enforcement, sheriffs or their deputies execute and return all processes and orders of the courts; receive, transport, and maintain custody of incarcerated individuals for court; attend the place or places of holding elections; keep all courthouses, jails, public grounds, and other county property; maintain a register of all precious-metal dealers; enforce the collection of taxes that may be due to the state; as well as numerous other duties. The office of Sheriff in Georgia existed in colonial times, and was included in the first official constitution of Georgia in 1777. There is no limit to how many terms a sheriff may serve. Title 15, Chapter 16, Section 40 of Georgia law specifies that, upon reaching 75 years of age, a sheriff who has held that office for 45 or more years automatically holds the honorary office of sheriff emeritus of the State of Georgia. In metropolitan counties the sheriff's responsibilities have changed from that of being the sole law enforcement official for their counties, to performing only traditional court-related functions but with wide-ranging duties in coordination with a county police department in the suburbs of the state capital and major cities. When these county police departments were formed they assumed patrol, investigative, crime fighting, and transportation safety responsibilities. There are two Georgia counties where the police department in the county seat and the local sheriff's office have merged most of their general operations: the Macon-Bibb County Sheriffs Office and the Augusta-Richmond County Sheriff's Office.


Hawaii

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
has two sheriffs, with very different functions and jurisdictions: *The Office of Sheriff falls under the Sheriff's Division of the Hawaii Department of Public Safety. It is the functional equivalent of a
state police State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...
department and has the distinction of making Hawaii the only
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
without an officially-named state police department and one of two with a statewide Sheriff's Department (the other being Rhode Island). Although the Sheriff Division's jurisdiction covers the entire state, its primary functions are judicial and executive protection, security at the
Hawaii State Capitol The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of the U.S. state of Hawaii. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state. The Hawaii State Legislature—com ...
, law enforcement at Hawaii's
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
s, narcotics enforcement, prisoner transportation, the processing and service of court orders and warrants, and the patrol of certain roads and waterways in conjunction with other state agencies. *The Sheriff of
Kalawao County, Hawaii Kalawao County ( haw, Kalana o Kalawao) is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the smallest county in the 50 states by land area and the second-smallest county by population, after Loving County, Texas. The county encompasses the Kala ...
, located on the
Kalaupapa Peninsula Kalawao County ( haw, Kalana o Kalawao) is a county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the smallest county in the 50 states by land area and the second-smallest county by population, after Loving County, Texas. The county encompasses the Kala ...
on the north coast of the island of
Moloka'i Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length and width with a us ...
and the smallest US county, is selected from among the 86 local residents (86 total population per the 2019 estimate of the US Census Bureau), by the
Hawaii Department of Health The Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) is a state agency of Hawaiʻi, with its headquarters in Honolulu CDP, Honolulu County on the island of Oʻahu. The Hawai'i Department of Health is organized into three administrations: Health Resources, ...
, which administers the county. The sheriff is the sole county government employee.


Idaho

The state of
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
consists of 44 counties. Each county in Idaho has an elected position for the Office of Sheriff which is the supreme law enforcement of a county. The Office of Sheriff is elected in 4-year terms.


Illinois

In
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, the sheriff is the highest law enforcement authority in each county; however, incorporated
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
, regardless of their sizes, are responsible for primary law enforcement within their jurisdiction. Therefore, the sheriffs' offices generally concentrate their police functions on unincorporated areas. In addition, many small municipalities pay the sheriff's office a portion of their law enforcement funds for the sheriff to act as their primary law enforcement: usually either overnight, which allows the local police department to operate with local officers during the day; or full-time, relieving the village of needing its own police department. In addition to providing policing, the sheriff's office controls the
county jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...
, guards the
courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
, acts as the
process server Service of process is the procedure by which a party to a lawsuit gives an appropriate notice of initial legal action to another party (such as a defendant), court, or administrative body in an effort to exercise jurisdiction over that person ...
for court documents such as summonses, and oversees
eviction Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgag ...
s, even inside municipalities with their own police forces.


Cook County

The
Cook County Sheriff's Office The Cook County Sheriff's Office is the principal law enforcement agency that serves Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois. It is the second largest sheriff's department in the United States, with over 6,900 members when at full operationa ...
is the second largest in the United States, with over 6,900 members. Due to its size, the Cook County Sheriff's Office divides its operations by task into 8 departments, the most recognizable of which is the Cook County Sheriff's Court Services Department. The much smaller Cook County Sheriff 's Police Department provides traditional police services in Unincorporated Cook County while the Department of Corrections operates the Cook County Department of Corrections. All Cook County Sheriff's Deputies are Sworn and State certified Peace Officers with Police Powers regardless of their particular job function or title. Like other sheriffs' departments in Illinois, the Sheriff can provide all traditional law-enforcement functions, including county-wide patrol and investigations irrespective of municipal boundaries, even in the city of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, but has traditionally limited its police patrol functions to unincorporated areas of the county because unincorporated areas are the primary jurisdiction of a Sheriff's Department in Illinois. The Sheriff's Police patrol services are often not required in incorporated cities because the cities such as Chicago have established their own police departments. The 500–600 member Sheriff's Police Department would not have the personnel necessary to supply full police services to all incorporated areas in Cook County especially in a municipality such as Chicago. Sheriff's deputies, outside the Sheriff's Police, provide the other services of the sheriff, such as guarding the various courthouses in Cook County, running and guarding the 9,800-detainee Cook County Jail, and overseeing other offender rehabilitation programs.


Indiana

In
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, county sheriffs are elected to office and limited by the state constitution to serving no more than two four-year terms consecutively. Indiana sheriffs are empowered to make the
arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...
of persons who commit an offense within the sheriff's view, and take them before a court of the county having
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...
, and detain them in custody until the cause of the arrest has been investigated. They possess a general power to suppress breaches of the peace, calling the power of the county to the sheriff's aid if necessary; pursue and jail felons; serve and execute judicial process; attend and preserve order in all courts of the county; take care of the county jail and the prisoners there; take photographs, fingerprints, and other identification data as the sheriff shall prescribe of persons taken into custody for felonies or misdemeanors. They are required to provide an accounting to the state department of correction concerning the costs of incarcerating prisoners in the county. Somewhat unusual among the states, Indiana sheriffs are paid a
salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. ...
out of which they must feed the prisoners in the county jails in their charge. They must account for the money they spend on prisoner's food; many counties' agreement with the sheriff's department allows the elected sheriff to keep the remaining funds allocated, which is contrary to state law. As a result, in many Indiana counties, the position of sheriff is one of the more lucrative of the elected officials, and the elections for sheriff are frequently hotly contested and draw larger numbers of candidates than most other county elective positions. Indiana Sheriffs may also appoint Special Deputies to act as private
security police Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties. Security police protect facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and enforce cer ...
for businesses. These Special Deputies are only empowered during the course of their employment hours and do not have any police authority when not actively working. Special Deputies appointed who work for the Sheriff's Department or other municipal or governmental agencies are limited only by any written limitations and specific requirements imposed by the sheriff and signed by the Special Deputy Additionally, the Indiana Supreme Court appoints a sheriff to maintain the safety of the judiciary and court facilities. The Supreme Court Sheriff also serves the papers and orders of the court. The Elkhart County Sheriff's Office was the first Sheriff's office in the nation to receive accreditation through CALEA. (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) Under an agreement between Indianapolis Mayor
Bart Peterson Barton "Bart" R. Peterson (born June 15, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who served as mayor of the United States, U.S city of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is also a past president of the National League of Cities. A Democratic Party (Unit ...
and Marion County Sheriff Frank J. Anderson, the Sheriff was responsible for overseeing the
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) is the law enforcement agency for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States. Its operational jurisdiction covers all of the consolidated city of Indianapolis and Marion Count ...
following the Department's creation in January, 2007, until the agreement was rescinded by Peterson's successor as Mayor,
Greg Ballard Gregory Alan Ballard (born November 20, 1954) is an American politician, author, and businessman who served as the 48th mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Marine Corps. On November 6, 20 ...
effective on February 29, 2008.


Iowa

There are 99 Sheriffs in the State of Iowa; one for each county. Sheriffs are elected to four-year terms in office with no term limits. Sheriff's Offices within Iowa have many functions: Patrol – which is the most visible and provides public safety activities and traffic enforcement duties; Jail – according to Iowa law, the Sheriff is responsible for the operation of the county jail. This responsibility includes the transportation of prisoners, the guarding of jail facilities, and in some counties, the securing of the county courthouse; Civil – according to Iowa law, the Sheriff is responsible for the civil process, which includes serving legal documents from the court and conducting evictions, sales and other civil related duties; and Detective – which investigates crimes and conducts follow up activities on cases. Although a primary responsibility of the Sheriff's Office is to provide law enforcement protection to the unincorporated and rural areas of the county, most Sheriff's Offices contract to provide law enforcement services to smaller incorporated communities that do not have their own police department. A Sheriff must be a certified peace officer through the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy as required under the Code of Iowa chapter 80B or must complete the basic training course within one year of taking office. Iowa deputy sheriffs are covered by civil service law which ensures that after their probationary periods they are only removed from office for just cause. Deputy Sheriffs must complete the state law enforcement academy within their first year of employment. In accordance with state law, the Iowa State Sheriffs' and Deputies' Association establishes the uniform and vehicle standards for all 99 counties. As such, all uniforms and patrol vehicle graphics are the same for each of the 99 Sheriff's Offices throughout Iowa with the exception of the respective County's name appearing on their badges, uniform patches, and vehicle markings. Badge numbers for Sheriffs and Deputies consist of a prefix number, which represents the county number, followed by a one to three digit number, which represents the Sheriff's or Deputy's number within that specific office. The Sheriff's badge number in each county is always #1. So the Sheriff from Bremer County would have an ID number of 9-1 (9 is the county number for Bremer County and 1 is the number for the Sheriff).


Kansas

Sheriffs are elected officials in their counties. They serve four-year terms between elections. There are 105 counties in Kansas but only 104 sheriffs. In the 1970s, Riley County merged the police departments within the county and created the Riley County Police Department. The RCPD is head by a Director who is hired by a police board. In Riley county, any duties that a county sheriff would perform are carried out by the RCPD. A small number of sheriffs in Kansas contract their police services to cities within their county boundaries that do not wish to manage their own police departments.


Kentucky

Sheriffs in
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
are elected for four-year terms and are not term limited. Sheriffs and deputies in Kentucky have the authority to patrol as well as power of arrest in all areas of their particular county, including incorporated cities. Most sheriffs, however, choose to patrol incorporated cities either only on the request of city officials or in the case of a major emergency. Sheriff's deputies will jointly patrol unincorporated areas of their county with the Kentucky State Police. In addition, sheriffs in Kentucky are responsible for court security, serving court papers and transporting prisoners. They are also responsible for collecting taxes on real estate and tangible property. Also, Kentucky law states that only the county coroner, also an elected peace officer, can serve the sitting sheriff with a state criminal court process or place him/her under arrest (any peace officer, however, can arrest the coroner). One of the main differences between Kentucky sheriffs and sheriffs in other states is that in most counties in Kentucky sheriffs do not run the county jails. County jails are run by a separate elected official called a jailer who has the authority to employ deputy jailers. The sheriff's office, however, may be asked by the jailer to assist with jail security in the event of an emergency. The only exception is in counties containing first class cities or counties with consolidated city/county governments which may merge their offices of sheriff and jailer and retain the office of sheriff to fill both roles. In these cases the sheriff can then relinquish responsibility for the jail back to the county or consolidated government to operate. This is the case in both Jefferson County and Fayette County, which are both the only counties with first class cities (
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
& Lexington respectively) and are the only counties with merged city/county governments. Deputy sheriffs, like municipal police officers, must be trained and certified as peace officers through the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Law Enforcement Training Center at
Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online u ...
in
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
, unless they have previously completed another recognized police academy. To maintain certification, all certified peace officers must complete forty hours of in-service training annually. Sheriffs themselves, however, are not mandated to be trained and certified as the job requirements for sheriff are described in the
Kentucky Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more. The later versions were adopted in 1799, 1850, a ...
, rather than the
Kentucky Revised Statutes Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) is the name given to the body of laws which govern the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States. They are created pursuant to the Kentucky Constitution and must conform to the limitations set out in the Constitutions ...
. Many sheriffs, however, do choose to receive this training if they had not received it as a law enforcement officer prior to their election.


Louisiana

The
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
constitution establishes the office of sheriff in each parish, each elected to a term of four years (Const. Art. V, §27). The sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the parish and has both criminal and civil jurisdiction. The sheriff is in charge of all criminal investigations and is responsible for executing court orders and process. The sheriff is the collector of ad valorem taxes and other taxes and license fees as provided by law and is the keeper of the public jail in the parish. Article V, Section 32 provides for the offices of civil sheriff and criminal sheriff in
Orleans Parish New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Harry Lee—elected seven times as sheriff of
Jefferson Parish Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
, and head of a powerful southern Louisiana
political machine In the politics of Representative democracy, representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a hig ...
—said, "Why would I want to be
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
when I can be king?"


Orleans Parish

Orleans Parish New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office combining the following two offices into one office in accordance with Louisiana Revised Statute 33:1500,. This statute required the Orleans Parish criminal and civil sheriffs' offices to be merged into one office by 2010 as a result of legislation passed to merge the Criminal and Civil Courts into one consolidated district court, as in all other Louisiana parishes. * The
Criminal Sheriff
', operates Orleans Parish Prison; and performs security, serves process, and performs enforcement functions for the Criminal District Court. Deputies are state-commissioned peace officers and are empowered to enforce all the laws of the state and ordinances of the parish. In addition, the Criminal Sheriff operates a Search & Rescue unit for maritime operations, as part of the Special Operations Division. * The
Civil Sheriff
', under Louisiana Revised Statute 13:1311, "...and the constables of the First and Second City Courts of New Orleans and their deputies, are hereby granted the powers of peace officers when carrying out the duties of the court, and are authorized to require incarceration of the subject involved in any of the city, parish or state prisons, precinct stations, or houses of detention in the parish of Orleans. They shall be exempt from liability for their actions in the exercise of this power in the same manner and fashion as liability is excluded generally for peace officers of this state and political subdivisions."


Maine

Maine's sixteen counties elect one sheriff every four years in a partisan election. Each sheriff is the Chief Executive Law Enforcement Officer for their county. The duties of the office of the sheriff are corrections, service of process and Patrol. The Sheriff operates the county jails and transports prisoners. The Sheriffs Office provides police patrol, responds to calls for assistance and provides investigative services to towns not large enough to maintain their own police departments. Some towns may contract with a Sheriff's Department for additional or more intensive coverage than would normally be allocated. The Sheriff's Department and Maine State Police share patrol and investigative duties in towns without police departments. The Sheriff and their deputies have full police powers within their respective counties. In Maine there are only 2 ranks, Deputy and the Sheriff.


Maryland

In
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, per the State Constitution, each county shall have an elected sheriff that serves a term of four years with all deputy sheriffs required to be sworn law enforcement officials with full arrest authority by the state's governing agency, the
Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission Headquartered in Sykesville, MD, the Maryland Police And Correctional Training Commissions (MPCTC) is a state oversight agency for all law enforcement and correctional agencies in Maryland. Duties The MPCTC is responsible for setting minimum hiri ...
. In the 18 more sparsely-populated
counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, the County Sheriff is the primary law enforcement agency charged with investigating crimes, enforcing traffic laws, enforcing orders of the court, and transporting, housing, and controlling the county jail inmate population. In
Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...
,
Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...
,
Baltimore City Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
, Howard County, and Montgomery County the Sheriff's Office still retains its law enforcement authority in all areas; however, their duties are strictly limited to enforcing orders of the court except in rare instances where called upon by the
County Police County police, often (but not always) called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of th ...
or other law enforcement to assist. In
Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...
, the Sheriff's Office and the County Police share the responsibility of county law enforcement. The
Prince George's County Police The Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States, servicing a population of over 900,000 residents and visitors within 498 square miles (1,290&n ...
still enforce the vast majority of crimes and traffic laws. Along with the traditional duties of enforcing all orders of the court, the
Prince George's County Sheriff's Office The Prince George's County Sheriff's Office (PGSO), officially the Office of the Sheriff, Prince George's County, provides law enforcement services in Prince George's County, Maryland in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Upper ...
responds to all domestic calls for service within the county's District III, is a part of the Homeland Security Task Force, US Marshal Taskforce, and the FBI Task Force. Within Maryland, the size of each county's Sheriff's Office varies greatly from forces of approximately 30 sworn to well over 500 in the more populated counties.


Massachusetts

There are 14 counties in Massachusetts, each with a sheriff who is elected to a six-year term. The state abolished eight of its 14 county governments between 1997 and 2000; those eight now exist only as geographic regions, with their elected sheriffs considered employees of the commonwealth. The duties of the office of the sheriff in Massachusetts are primarily to maintain custody of a county jail and house of correction, to serve civil process, and to transport inmates to and from courts and other facilities. Although they have police powers, their duties are to generally support local law enforcement, and they do not usually patrol. The sheriffs in Massachusetts are considered to be the chief law enforcement officers in their counties. In some counties, such as
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, and Barnstable, the sheriffs maintain law enforcement services such as K-9, criminal investigation, and tactical response, gang enforcement, and warrant teams. Deputies are often seen supporting local police in traffic control and at large events like county fairs and sports events. A 2020 investigation by
WBUR WBUR-FM (90.9 FM) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. It is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, along with WGBH and WUMB-FM and produces several nationally distributed progra ...
into prison deaths found incidents of poor medical care (representing about one-third of deaths where details were available), neglect, and assault by corrections officers, had few consequences for elected sheriffs, nurses, or corrections officers. Sheriffs have denied family members, reporters, and even the Suffolk County District attorney information about deaths, including the circumstances surrounding the deaths, names of inmates, disciplinary records, and in some counties even the number of deaths was kept secret. The actual number of deaths was about 25% higher than the number reported to the federal Department of Justice. Many out-of-court settlements of wrongful death lawsuits were kept secret, and some were not properly reported to the state treasurer. See also: * Middlesex County Sheriff's Office * Suffolk County Sheriff's Department *
List of Sheriffs of Essex County, Massachusetts This is a list of Sheriffs of Essex County, Massachusetts. In the earliest days of the county the office of Sheriff was called the Marshall. Since 1692 the office has been called the Sheriff. The Sheriff originally was an appointed office, ...
* List of Sheriffs of Norfolk County, Massachusetts * List of Sheriffs of Worcester County, Massachusetts


Michigan

In
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, sheriffs are constitutionally mandated, elected county officials. All sheriff's offices have general law enforcement powers throughout their entire county, as well as traditional judicial-process, court-protection (
bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
) and jail-operation powers. Sheriff's offices may primarily patrol areas of their county without municipal police services; however, they are free to patrol anywhere in their county, including
cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
,
village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
s and
charter township A charter township is a form of local government in the U.S. state of Michigan. Townships in Michigan are organized governments. A charter township has been granted a charter, which allows it certain rights and responsibilities of home rule that ...
s that have their own police services. Occasionally, this results in conflict over jurisdiction between municipal police agencies and sheriff's offices. In some counties (primarily urban counties such as
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, Macomb, Wayne,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
Genesee Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to: Geographic features Canada *Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States *Genesee, California *Genesee, Colorado *Genesee County, Michigan *Genesee Co ...
,
Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...
, Bay, Midland and Washtenaw), sheriff's offices provide dedicated police services under contract to some municipalities, in lieu of those municipalities providing their own police services. (Michigan law provides for or requires municipalities, depending upon their structure, to provide dedicated police services.) The sheriffs of all 83 Michigan counties are members of the Michigan Sheriffs' Association. This professional organization, formed in 1877, promulgates standardized insignias that are used, to varying degrees, by all Michigan sheriff's offices on their uniforms and vehicles. Notably, the
Michigan State Police The Michigan State Police (MSP) is the state police agency for the U.S. state of Michigan. The MSP is a full-service law enforcement agency, with its sworn members having full police powers statewide. The department was founded in 1917 as a wart ...
have general law-enforcement powers throughout the entire state. Thus, all Michigan residents have at least two levels of general police services (state police and sheriff's offices), while residents of a municipality that has its own police service have a third level of general police service. The Office of Sheriff is created by the Michigan Constitution. As a constitutional officer, the Sheriff must operate a county jail, serve and execute all civil writs and process as well as criminal process that are issued pursuant to rule, and produce and maintain records as prescribed by law. In addition, the Sheriff operates a Marine Safety Program (with the Department of Natural Resources), provides contracted law enforcement services, and miscellaneous other duties. Currently the Oakland County Sheriff's Office is the largest full service sheriff's office in the state, overseeing over 1,400 employees and managing an annual budget of over $156 million.


Minnesota

In order to be elected to the office of County Sheriff, the candidate must be actively employed in a law enforcement vocation. The
Hennepin County Sheriff's Office The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is the sheriff's office for Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. HCSO's main offices are in Minneapolis City Hall in the county seat of Minneapolis. The office manages the county jail, patr ...
is the largest Sheriff's office in Minnesota, serving roughly one million residents. In Ramsey County The Sheriff is elected to a four-year term, has about 450 employees and an annual operating budget of about $57 million. The office is currently occupied by Sheriff Bob fletcher who is known for streaming live patrols on youtube and facebook along side his deputy Pat Scott. The under sherif at Ramsay County is Mike Martin.


Mississippi

Sheriffs in the State of
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
are elected to four year terms, with no limits on the number of terms that may be served. The Sheriff's office works to prevent crime and build community safety through education, investigation and enforcement. The sheriff's duties generally fall into two broad categories: # Law enforcement duties: These duties are specifically to keep the peace within the county, by causing all offenders to enter into bonds, with sureties, for keeping the peace and for appearing at the next circuit court, and by committing such offenders in case of refusal. The sheriff is also charged with the duty to quell riots, routs, affrays and unlawful assemblages, and to prevent lynchings and mob violence. # Administrative duties: #* Serve as the county's jailor—The sheriff is required to keep separate rooms for the sexes, not permitting communication between male and female prisoners, unless they are married; provide fire and lights when necessary and proper; sufficient and clean bedding; and daily wholesome and adequate food and drink. #* Have charge of the courthouse and jail of his county, of the premises belonging thereto, and of the prisoners in said jail. This includes the protection of the court and prisoners from mob violence, injuries or attacks by mobs, and from trespasses and intruders. #* Submit a budget of his office's estimated expenses for the next fiscal year including payment of premiums on the bonds and insurance necessary to protect the interest of the county. (i.e. bonds for liability insurance, insurance against false arrest charges, insurance against false imprisonment charges, theft, fire, and other hazards insurance, and hospitalization insurance). #* Keep books of every kind maps, charts, and other things that may be donated to the county. #* Keep the Mississippi Department Reports, census reports, statutes of the state, the Mississippi Reports, digests, and legislative journals assigned to his county in the courtroom of the courthouse. #* Keep a jail docket noting the details of each warrant or mittimus of any person placed in the county jail. *
Hinds County Sheriff's Office Hinds may refer to: Deer, especially does *Deer People with the surname Hinds: *Hinds (surname) In places: *Hinds, New Zealand, a small town *Hinds County, Mississippi, a US county *Hinds Lake, a lake in Minnesota *Hinds River, a river that flows ...
is the biggest sheriff office in Mississippi and The county's largest city in population is Jackson, the state's capital.


Missouri

There are 114 counties and one independent city ( City of St. Louis) in
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. Sheriffs in Missouri are elected to a four-year term and is considered the chief law enforcement officer of the county. The sheriff and his deputies may conduct a variety of duties within their respective jurisdictions. Section 57.100 of the Missouri Revised Statutes states that "Every sheriff shall quell and suppress assaults and batteries, riots, routs, affrays and insurrections; shall apprehend and commit to jail all felons and traitors, and execute all process directed to him by legal authority, including writs of replevin, attachments and final process issued by circuit and associate circuit judges." Generally, the sheriff is responsible for police patrol in unincorporated areas of the county, but retains full jurisdiction within the entire county. Generally, city or village police handle general law enforcement duties in incorporated areas. In addition, the sheriff is responsible for court security, serving court documents, operating the jail (some jurisdictions have separate county correctional departments), executing warrants, issuing concealed weapon carry permits, and other duties. In the Independent City of St. Louis, the sheriff's duties include court security for the Circuit Court, transporting prisoners between the Courts and detention facilities, serving court papers and eviction notices, and issuing concealed carry permits. Patrol duties are handled by the
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department The Metropolitan Police Department of the City of St. Louis (also known as the SLMPD or Metro) is the primary law enforcement agency for the U.S. city of St. Louis. According to the Mapping Police Violence dataset, SLMPD has the highest polic ...
. Some sheriff's departments provide School Resource Deputies to public school districts under contract with the local school board. These deputies not only perform law enforcement duties, but act as mentors and instructors in safety and security related matters. In addition, sheriffs may utilize SWAT or STAR teams, consisting of specially trained deputies who may handle hostage situations, security details, or special events. K-9 units, boat patrols, air patrols, traffic units, reserve units, and Emergency Management Division units are just some of the other specialized divisions that may be formed by the sheriff. Since January 1, 2010, Missouri Revised Statutes 57.010 states that county sheriffs must have a Missouri Peace Officer's License before they may perform any law enforcement functions. Deputy Sheriffs are considered law enforcement officers, and must be certified by The Department of Public Safety's
Peace Officer Standards and Training In the United States, certification and licensure requirements for law enforcement officers vary significantly from state to state.Jeffrey S. Magers, "Police Officer Standard and Training Commissions (POST Commissions)" in ''Encyclopedia of Law ...
(POST) Program.


Montana

All 56 Montana counties have sheriff's offices responsible for general law-enforcement functions in areas other than those covered by local city police departments. In larger cities sheriff's offices perform mainly judicial duties such as serving warrants and providing courtroom security. The sheriff, as the county's chief law enforcement officer, has jurisdiction anywhere in the county, including municipalities, where the Sheriff's Office provides assistance and support to local law enforcement agencies. Sheriff's deputies in Montana are certified by The Department of Public Safety's Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Program. Sheriff's deputies have the full powers of arrest and can enforce all of state laws more than any other law enforcement officer in the state. Examples include fish and game violations, department of transportation regulations, department of livestock. The City and County of Butte-Silver Bow is a consolidated city-county that has a unified law enforcement agency, the Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Department, the elected Sheriff of Butte-Silver Bow serves as the agency executive.


Nebraska

All
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
counties have sheriff's offices responsible for general law-enforcement functions in areas other than those covered by local city police departments. Sheriff's deputies in Nebraska are certified by the state law-enforcement commission and have full arrest powers.


Nevada

There are 17 sheriff's offices in
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, and two of them are unique, as the Carson City Sheriff's Office is a result of the 1967 merger of the old Carson City Police Department and the Ormsby County Sheriff's Department, as well as the
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (also known as the LVMPD or Metro) is a combined city and county law enforcement agency for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is headed by the Sheriff of Clark County, ...
which is the result of the 1973 merger of the Clark County Sheriff's Office and the old Las Vegas Police Department.


New Hampshire

The
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
position of High Sheriff dates back to pre-Revolutionary War days. Since 1840, there have been 10 counties in the state, each with a High Sheriff. These sheriffs and their deputies are the highest ranking and most powerful uniformed law-enforcement officers in the state. The state constitution gives the sheriff of each county full law-enforcement authority throughout the county. In 1911, this authority was expanded by the state legislature to include the entire state. Sheriffs are elected to two-year terms without term limits. The sheriff is responsible for civil process, transport of prisoners, and criminal and civil warrants. Patrol services are not performed in every county, but sheriffs and the state police have contractual dedicated patrol or traffic enforcement only agreements with some towns. Most county sheriff's offices provide dispatch service for many of the county's communities. Sheriffs are also responsible for the security in all the county courthouses throughout the state. Finally, sheriffs are responsible for the prisoners in the local district courts throughout the state.


New Jersey

Sheriffs in
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
are sworn law-enforcement officers with full arrest powers. They also serve writs and other legal process and perform court-security functions. In some counties, responsibility for the county jail rests with the sheriff's office; in other counties, this responsibility rests with a separate corrections department. In most counties, the police functions provided by the sheriff's office are limited to patrolling county property such as parks, courts, county facilities, and roads; plus, providing specialized units and support to local police, e.g.,
bomb squads Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milita ...
, emergency response (
SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
) and investigative units. Essex County Sheriff's Bureau of Narcotics is featured in the film '' American Gangster'' which stars
Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...
and
Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
. The Essex County Sheriff and the Hudson County Sheriff, also holds the unique title of the Office of Emergency Management and serves a highly populated urban area including
Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...
, in Essex County, which is New Jersey's largest city and
Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Union County also has a separate county-wide police force, which fulfills many of the police functions provided by sheriff's offices in other counties. All areas of New Jersey are incorporated municipalities and the vast majority have their own local police agencies that provide general law enforcement. The New Jersey State Police provides primary law enforcement in only a few rural areas in Southern and North Western NJ that lack local police.


New Mexico

County Sheriffs in
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
are regular law enforcement officials and have the authority to perform law enforcement duties at any location within their county of jurisdiction, but they primarily focus on unincorporated rural areas, while leaving law enforcement functions within the limits of incorporated municipalities to town or city police departments. Sheriffs occasionally assist local police departments with law enforcement in incorporated cities and towns, particularly when such assistance is requested by local police.


New York

Like most other states, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs in the State of New York are regular law-enforcement officers with full police powers and duties such as patrol work, prisoner transport, civil process, and court security. Many sheriff's offices in New York State also have canine, marine, aviation and
SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
units, as well as various other specialized units. In several sheriff's offices throughout the state, an
undersheriff An undersheriff (or under-sheriff) is an office derived from ancient English custom that remains in, among other places, England and Wales and the United States, though performing different functions. United States In American law enforcement, ...
is often the warden of the county jail or second-in-command of the entire agency. Until recently, most sheriff's officers wore a standardized uniform (black pants and shirt with dark gray straw
Stetson Stetson is a brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, in particular, in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous hats when he ...
hat in the summer and a black felt Stetson hat in the winter with a black Class A jacket for the dress uniform and a black leather jacket for the winter) and all patrol vehicles were marked in the same manner (white with red stripes, etc.). Several counties have moved away from these practices. Patrol cars in these counties have different vehicle markings, and deputy sheriffs wear different uniforms. Some examples are
Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...
, which has dark gray uniforms similar to the New York State Police; and
Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...
, whose deputy sheriffs wear tan shirts with dark brown pants. Dutchess County Deputy Sheriffs wear tactical Class B uniforms consisting of black shirts and black pants and a Class A uniform with light blue shirts with darker blue pants. In Suffolk County, the sheriff vehicles are black and white (similar to the police/sheriff vehicle scheme used in California). In
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, deputy sheriffs wear a uniform very similar to sworn
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
personnel. Ontario County Sheriff's deputies wear the traditional uniform; black pants, black shirt with brass buttons, and a black stetson. Currently there are 57 county sheriff's offices, and one city sheriff's office (see below) which covers the five boroughs (counties) of New York City. The largest sheriff's office in New York State is the Erie County Sheriff's Office, followed by the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department with around 275 deputies and 900 correction officers. Sheriffs in New York State (outside of New York City, Nassau and Westchester Counties) are elected for three or four-year terms, depending on the vote of the county government, specifically the county legislature. The Sheriff of New York City is appointed by the mayor (see below) and the Sheriffs of Nassau County and Westchester County are appointed by the county executives of those respective counties.


New York City

The
City of New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, although it comprises five counties, currently has a single Sheriff's Office, part of the
New York City Department of Finance The New York City Department of Finance (DOF) is the revenue service, taxation agency and recorder of deeds of the government of New York City. Its Parking Violations Bureau is an administrative court that adjudicates parking violations, while its ...
. The Sheriff's Office is headed by a sheriff, appointed by the
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
. As the primary civil law enforcement agency of the City of New York, the Sheriff's Office typically acts as the enforcer of civil judgments won by the city against individuals and businesses. The agency also enforces judgments on behalf of private petitioners' as well. Though the sheriff and his/her deputies retain their status as peace officers/law enforcement officers, traditional patrol and other law enforcement functions are handled by other departments: the
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
oversees law enforcement; the
Department of Corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and s ...
manages the city's jails; the Office of the Medical Examiner handles the coroner functions; and Court Officers handle security for the courts themselves and in lock-ups within court buildings. The New York City Sheriff's Office does provide criminal investigation services in cases involving city tax and deed fraud, as well as illegal tobacco distribution and smuggling. The sheriff or his/her deputies serve processes and writs; seize property and handle evictions pursuant to court orders; execute
mental hygiene Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
and family court arrest warrants, along with any other type of arrest ordered by the courts and directed to the sheriff; enforce traffic and parking laws, and perform other law enforcement/peacekeeping functions necessary to maintain public order. The Sheriff's Office has five county/borough field offices and several citywide units. The agency has five undersheriffs, each in charge of a county/borough. Approximately 150 deputy sheriffs of various ranks are employed by the agency, along with an assortment of civilian support staff. The sheriff, undersheriffs, and deputy sheriffs of the City of New York have peace officer powers and are authorized to carry firearms both on and off duty (as per the New York State Criminal Procedure Law). The Sheriff's Office is not to be confused with New York City Marshals, who are private businessmen licensed by the city and authorized by the courts as independent public officers to be hired by individuals and businesses to enforce civil judgments. New York City Marshals are not city employees; they keep a portion of what they seize as profit instead of collecting a salary from the city. New York City Marshals are not peace officers.


North Carolina

The office of sheriff is the oldest public office in North Carolina (established in 1662). It was constitutionally mandated in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
in 1776. It is an elected law enforcement office. The sheriff has duties in all three branches of law enforcement: Policing, Courts/Criminal Justice and Corrections/Jail. The Office of the Sheriff is the primary law enforcement agency for the unincorporated areas of North Carolina's counties. The Sheriff, as the county's chief law enforcement officer, has jurisdiction anywhere in the county, including municipalities, where the Sheriff's Office provides assistance and support to municipal law enforcement agencies, who have primary jurisdiction in their respective municipalities. Law enforcement duties of this Office include patrolling the counties, preventing crime, investigating violations of the law, and apprehending law violators. In addition, support services, such as communications, evidence, and property control services are provided. The Sheriff is also responsible for keeping and maintaining the common jail of the county, which currently consists of separate detention facilities at the County Public Safety Centers and the Detention Annex if required by the counties. The Office is responsible for transporting prisoners for court appearances. In the area of judicial services, the Office of the Sheriff serves as the enforcement arm of the North Carolina General Court of Justice. The Office serves civil and criminal processes issued by the courts, which often includes arresting persons and bringing them before the courts, as well as the seizure and sale of personal and real property to satisfy court judgments. The Sheriff is responsible for courtroom security in the District and Superior courtrooms in the county. Other miscellaneous duties of the Office mandated by the State include pistol purchase permits, concealed handgun permits, parade and picketing permits, and maintaining registries of sexual offenders and domestic violators. In North Carolina, the sheriff is elected to a 4-year term, and may not be a
felon A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...
. A county sheriff is responsible not to county authorities but to the citizens of the county. County governments are responsible for providing funding to the Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff is the highest ranking law enforcement officer of each of the state's 100 counties, but possess no authority over state or municipal officers. The Sheriff has complete at-will power to hire and terminate deputies and other sheriff's office personnel at his-her will and pleasure. Deputies and jailers serve a term concurrent with the sheriff, not to exceed 4 years and must be re-sworn every 4 years. Jailers are custodial officers and must complete a 160-hour jailer training course, though some are also dually trained and sworn as deputies. Deputies must complete the state mandated 600+ hour Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) course, or do a "re-entry" or reentry syllabus for former or lateral (out of state officers). Other than the reentry option, the training for deputies is the same as for police officers, and other certified officers. The sheriff however, can hire deputies and has one year to get them trained and certified. This allows a sheriff who comes in office to, if he-she chooses, to replace an entire or partial department with untrained appointees and there is then one year to get the new deputies trained and certified. Deputies are a political extension of the sheriff and have no independent statutory power and when an arrest or action is made in an official capacity, it is done in the name of the sheriff as a de facto power of attorney. Exceptions to the County Sheriff in North Carolina are that of two of North Carolina's Counties, Gaston and Mecklenburg. These Counties have police forces for the whole county, as well as a Sheriff Department that is responsible for the jails, courts and civil process, in addition to gun permits, sex offender database and other specific sheriff duties. * In Gaston County, the Gaston County Police Department is responsible for county-wide police services for the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county, while overlapping with City and Township police. The Gaston County Sheriffs Office is responsible for the jails and the court system in Gastonia, the county seat. * In Charlotte, the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) is the police department of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States, which includes the City of Charlotte. With 1,817 officers and 525 civilian staff as of 2020, covering an area of wi ...
is responsible for the incorporated areas of Charlotte, and the unincorporated areas of the county, while the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office is responsible for the jails, courts, and warrant service.


North Dakota

Sheriffs in
North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
are the chief law enforcement officers in the 53 counties. They are elected to four-year terms. Officers for the department have full arrest powers and general enforcement, including enforcing all state and local laws, maintaining jail facilities, transporting prisoners and mentally ill patients, serving legal papers, holding public sales of property under court orders and attending district court. Officers service rural areas. In recent years, the decreasing tax base has led many small towns to contract with the counties for law enforcement service.


Ohio

Until
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
achieved statehood in 1803, the position of Sheriff was filled through appointments made at the pleasure of the Territorial Governor, Arthur St. Clair. The first Sheriff on the record in Ohio and the
Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
was Colonel Ebenezer Sproat, who served fourteen years in the position. When he was appointed in 1788, Colonel Sproat's jurisdiction covered all of Washington County; this enormous area of land then included all of eastern Ohio from the Ohio River to Lake Erie. The "First to Serve Since 1788" motto on Ohio sheriff vehicles refers to Sheriff Sproat's service. After statehood, only three public offices in Ohio were filled via the electoral-process system. The position of Sheriff was one of them. Through this new system, William Skinner became the first elected Sheriff in the Buckeye State. Since the early 19th century, Ohio sheriffs have been elected at the county level for four-year terms. In each of the 88 counties of Ohio, the sheriff is the chief law-enforcement officer. The primary duties of the sheriff are to provide common pleas court services and corrections on a countywide basis, and full police protection to the unincorporated areas of the county; however, the sheriff also maintains full police jurisdiction in all municipalities, townships, and villages. Each sheriff is also statutorily required to provide line law enforcement, court security and service of papers, jail operations, extradition process, and transportation of prisoners. In an effort to become consistent on a statewide level, Ohio sheriffs and deputies wear a standardized uniform, and all patrol vehicles are marked in the same manner.


Oklahoma

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
's
Sheriffs A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
, whose primary role is as an
officer of the court In common law jurisdictions, the generic term officer of the court is applied to all those who, in some degree in the function of their professional or similar qualifications, have a part in the legal system. Officers of the court may include ent ...
, provide full services, that is, providing traditional law-enforcement functions such as countywide patrol and investigations. As the chief peace officer of each of Oklahoma's 77 counties, the Sheriffs serve and execute all process, writs, precepts and orders issued or made by lawful authorities, namely the courts. The Sheriff's office also provides security for judges and courthouses. The Sheriffs are in charge of and have custody over the jail of their county, and all the prisoners in the jail are under the Sheriff's supervision, with the Sheriff serving as the county's jailer. Under their law-enforcement responsibilities, the Sheriffs are responsible for ensuring that the peace is preserved,
riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...
s are suppressed, and that unlawful assemblies and
insurrection Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
s are controlled throughout their county. To ensure justice is administered, the Sheriff is empowered to apprehend any person charged with a felony or breach of the peace and may attend any court within the county. The Sheriffs are also
empowered Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process of becoming strong ...
to
conscript Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
any person or persons of their county that they may deem necessary to fulfill their duties.


Oregon

General duties of sheriff The sheriff is the chief executive law enforcement officer and conservator of the peace of the county. In the execution of the office of sheriff, it is the sheriff's duty to: # Arrest and commit to prison all persons who break the peace, or attempt to break it, and all persons guilty of public offenses. # Defend the county against those who, by riot or otherwise, endanger the public peace or safety. # Execute the process and orders of the courts of justice or of judicial officers, when delivered to the sheriff for that purpose, according to law. # Execute all warrants delivered to the sheriff for that purpose by other public officers, according to law. # Attend, upon call, the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Oregon Tax Court, circuit court, justice court or county court held within the county, and to obey its lawful orders or directions. mended by 1985 c.339 §1 There are 36 counties in Oregon with 36 elected sheriffs, each holding a four-year term of office. Sheriffs in Oregon provide full-service law enforcement, enforcing all state and local laws, maintaining active traffic safety and enforcement units, managing the county jail, providing marine boating safety patrols, being responsible for county Search and Rescue, and providing law enforcement services for the courts. Many Oregon sheriffs have dedicated specialized teams that include traffic safety, SWAT, interagency drug teams, K9, and rescue.


Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
sheriffs legally have all traditional law enforcement powers. But, since the establishment of the
Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and cr ...
in 1905, in practice most of the 67 counties' sheriff's offices perform traditional court-related functions, transporting prisoners to and from court, etc. The status of Pennsylvania's county sheriffs was in a legal gray area for many years. While sheriffs routinely provided court security, prisoner transport, civil process services and bench warrant arrests, it was unclear whether they had law-enforcement powers. From the 1970s through the early 1990s, a number of defendants charged by deputy sheriffs with crimes attempted to suppress the results of their arrests, on the basis that the deputies were not ''bona fide'' law-enforcement officers. In ''Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Leet'', a 1991 decision by the Pennsylvania Superior Court, a 2–1 majority of the Court held that deputy sheriffs had no law-enforcement powers. That decision was reversed by the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...
in a 1994 decision by Justice John P. Flaherty. He held that sheriffs have the power to enforce motor-vehicle laws (at issue in this case) for violations committed in their presence. In his majority opinion, Justice Flaherty explored the historical roots of the office of Sheriff in the United Kingdom and the United States and concluded that the powers developed as a matter of
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
: Sheriffs and their deputies in Pennsylvania can therefore make
arrests An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be quest ...
for felonies and breaches of the peace committed in their presence. They are required by statute to be trained and certified by th
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency
In the early 21st century, every Pennsylvania county has a Sheriff's Office. Most are still elected, but
Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
and Luzerne counties have adopted
home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...
charters that stipulate the Sheriff will be an appointed position and no longer elected. This has led to some overlap in places such as Allegheny County, where the
County Police County police, often (but not always) called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of th ...
are responsible for supporting local law-enforcement and patrolling county-owned property, including the
Pittsburgh International Airport Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pitts ...
. Similarly, the Delaware County Courthouse and Park Police Department provides
security police Security police officers are employed by or for a governmental agency or corporations to provide security service security services to those properties. Security police protect facilities, properties, personnel, users, visitors and enforce cer ...
functions. With the newly reestablished law enforcement powers of the
County Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
, however, this has led to some power struggles.


Philadelphia County

As part of the government of the City of Philadelphia, which encompasses the county, the Sheriff is elected for a four-year term. The Sheriff provides basic court-related services such as transporting prisoners, providing courthouse security, and other duties with regard to service of process and summonses that are issued by county and state courts. The sheriff also carries out evictions and conducts auction sales of real property in foreclosure and seizures of
personal property property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—any property that can be moved fr ...
(chattel) to satisfy a judgment. The
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
Sheriff's Department has indicated its intention to carry out community law-enforcement while continuing its statutory duties.


Rhode Island

The
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
Division of Sheriffs is a statewide law enforcement agency under the
Rhode Island Department of Public Safety The Rhode Island Department of Public Safety is one of the newest departments in Rhode Island's entire government. Composed of the Rhode Island State Police The Rhode Island State Police (RISP) is an agency of the US state of Rhode Island resp ...
. Division personnel fall under the command of the Chief Sheriff, currently David M. DeCesare. The Division is responsible for "courtroom security and cellblocks in all state courthouses, training of personnel, extradition and civil service, and transportation of individuals charged with crimes."


South Carolina

There are 46 sheriffs in South Carolina. South Carolina has suffered a rash of corruption among its sheriffs, with 13 having been convicted of crimes between 2010 and 2021. This has prompted calls for reforms. A bill was put forward in 2019 to bar anyone who had been convicted of a felony, even if they were pardoned, from running for sheriff. In 2020, Kristin Graziano was elected sheriff of Charleston County, becoming the first woman and first openly gay person to serve as sheriff in South Carolina.


South Dakota

In the state of
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
, the Sheriff's duties, by law, are as follows: "Sheriff to preserve the peace—Apprehension of felons—Execution of process. The sheriff shall keep and preserve the peace within his county, for which purpose he is empowered to call to his aid such persons or power of his county as he may deem necessary. He must pursue and apprehend all felons, and must execute all writs, warrants, and other process from any court or magistrate which shall be directed to him by legal authority." Every county in the state of South Dakota is required to hold an election for Sheriff every 4 (four) years. There is no limit to how many consecutive 4 (four) year terms an individual can serve as Sheriff. Sheriff Departments in South Dakota typically rely on the assistance of the South Dakota Highway Patrol for
SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
and high risk warrant services. The Sheriff in all counties has law enforcement powers, they also serve court documents both civil and criminal, provide courthouse security, conduct investigations, and usually operate a county jail. Some counties contract-out jail space for other counties to use. (Fees are usually determined by the number of inmates housed per day.) Sheriffs are required by state law to be paid a minimum annual salary. The law and guidelines are shown below. Sheriffs' salary schedule. The board of county commissioners shall establish, by resolution, the salary payable to the sheriff. The salary payable may not be less than the following schedule based upon the most recent decennial federal census of population of counties. The board of county commissioners may not decrease the salary of the sheriff during consecutive terms of office of the sheriff. Any sheriff having responsibility for managing a full-time jail shall receive an additional ten percent added to the base salary listed in this section.


Tennessee

The
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
requires each county to elect a sheriff to a four-year term. In all Tennessee counties except one, the sheriff is an official with full police powers, county-wide, although Tennessee sheriffs and their deputies generally perform the patrol portion of their duties in unincorporated areas of their counties if the municipalities have their own police departments. The exception to the rule is Davidson County. In Davidson County, the sheriff has the primary responsibility of serving civil process and jail functions without the
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
powers to keep the peace. Protection of the peace is instead the responsibility of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department under the county's Metropolitan Charter. The Metropolitan Charter did not remove the Davidson County Sheriff's status as a Law Enforcement officer however. It is simply not his or her primary function as it was prior to the consolidation of the City of Nashville and Davidson County.


Texas

The
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
(Article 5, Section 23) provides for the election of a sheriff in each one of the 254 counties. Currently, the term of office for Texas sheriffs is four years. However, when vacancies arise, the commissioners court of the respective county may appoint a replacement to serve out the remaining term. In Texas, sheriffs and their deputies are fully empowered peace officers with county-wide jurisdiction and thus, may legally exercise their authority in unincorporated and incorporated areas of a county. However, they primarily provide law enforcement services for only the unincorporated areas of a county and do not normally patrol in incorporated cities which have their own police agencies. Sheriffs and their deputies have statewide warrantless arrest powers for any criminal offense (except for certain traffic violations) committed within their presence or view. They may also serve arrest warrants anywhere in the state. The duties of a Texas Sheriff generally include providing law enforcement services to residents, keeping the county jail, providing bailiffs for the county and district courts within the county, and in some cases serving process issued therefrom (the office of the constable is responsible for most civil process).


Harris County

The
Harris County Sheriff's Office The Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is a local law enforcement agency serving the over four million citizens of Harris County, Texas, United States. It is headquartered on the first and second floors in the 1200 Baker Street Jail in Down ...
is the largest sheriff's office in Texas and fourth largest in the US, with a sworn employee count of 2,537 in 2005. In 2000, 60% of deputies were assigned to jail operations, 26% to patrol, 12% to investigations, and 1% to process serving. The smallest sheriff's office in Texas is in Borden County, with a sheriff and a deputy.


Utah

Sheriffs in Utah are elected by all voting residents within their county. The sheriff must be a Utah State Certified Peace Officer when elected or must be certified shortly after the election. All peace officers in Utah are certified by the Utah Peace Officer's Academy, known as POST (Peace Officer Standardization and Training). Sheriff's deputies primarily offer routine law enforcement services to the unincorporated portions of the county, but they have authority to arrest anywhere in the state or outside the state for crimes committed within the state. Persons arrested by Utah Peace Officers outside of the State of Utah must be turned over to local authorities for extradition unless they are arrested following a hot pursuit which exits the state. Additionally, sheriffs deputies are responsible for security in courts with bailiffs employed for that purpose. A portion of the sheriff's office carries out civil process at the direction of the courts, such as
eviction Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgag ...
or process service of some legal documents. Utah sheriffs deputies also operate the jail within their county. Sheriffs departments in Utah may also organize major crimes task force for crimes such as
drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
or
gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
s that may require coordination between city, county, state and federal law enforcement. The oldest sheriff's office in Utah was the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office, which dated back to shortly after the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in 1847. The department's patrol division was disbanded on midnight of Friday, January 1, 2010, and replaced by the
Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake The Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake (UPD) is a police department located in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. Description The UPD serves unincorporated Salt Lake County and the communities of Copperton, Holladay, Kearns, ...
(UPD). The Sheriff of Salt Lake County serves as the executive of both UPD and the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.


Vermont

Sheriff responsibilities in
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
include furnishing security for fourteen county superior courts and two district courts, serving civil and criminal papers, transportation of prisoners, patrolling towns, motor vehicle and snowmobile enforcement, and furnishing security for special events.


Virginia

The position of sheriff is established by the Virginia Constitution, with the sheriff and their deputies having both civil and concurrent criminal jurisdiction countywide. Sheriffs terms are for four years and are not term limited. Unlike other states, the Sheriff is not necessarily the chief law enforcement officer; in a city that has a police department, a Chief of Police has that distinction according to statute. However, a sheriff is chief law enforcement officer in any county. In such areas, the
Chief of Police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the b ...
is the highest-ranking officer, such as in incorporated towns or cities.
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
is unique in that the 38 Independent cities are independent jurisdictions and are completely separate from any county. Thus, most cities (with few exceptions such as Poquoson and Franklin) have elected sheriffs, most of which focus on court and jail operations. By law, sheriffs can enforce all the laws of the Commonwealth in the jurisdiction they serve. Some city sheriffs (such as Portsmouth and Newport News) also work alongside the city police in responding to calls and enforcing traffic violations. In cities such as Poquoson and Franklin, these cities grew out of a county and still use that county's sheriff for civil process and court services. Those sheriff's offices still have concurrent jurisdiction in those cities but do not generally exercise them, allowing the city police to handle criminal/traffic matters. All sheriffs are responsible for civil process, jails, serving levies and holding sheriff's sales to satisfy judgements. Since 1983, when the General Assembly passed legislation allowing counties to establish police departments by referendum, only seven counties have done so. In most of those counties, such as Henrico and Chesterfield, the sheriffs offices exercise criminal enforcement authority sharing it with the county police, but generally let the county police investigate most crime. The city of Williamsburg incorporated as a city from James City County in 1699. Prior to 1983, the sheriff's office handled all police functions for James City County while a sheriff performed court/jail functions for Williamsburg. When James City County established its county police department, that department operated under the county sheriff for two years before becoming a separate agency. Williamsburg's sheriff's office comprised only 8 personnel, it eventually merged with the county's sheriff's office to form the Williamsburg-James City County Sheriff's office. In the early 1990s the General Assembly mandated the uniforms for all sheriffs as being dark brown shirts with tan pants that have a brown stripe. Sheriff's Office vehicles were to be dark brown with a five-point star on the front doors and "Sheriff's Office" on the trunk. The five-point star must have the jurisdiction's name in a half circle on the star and "Sheriff's Office" in a half circle under that. In the early first decade of the 21st century, legislation was passed to allow sheriffs to purchase white vehicles (if agreed to by the city or county), and allowing sheriffs' deputies to wear any color uniform the sheriff chose. Sheriffs' vehicles still must have the star on the front doors and markings on the trunk as before. The Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with local police departments, assist with controlling traffic, issuing traffic summonses, and working with state and local law-enforcement agencies. Additionally, sheriff's deputies aid the
county police County police, often (but not always) called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of th ...
, the United States Marshals Service, and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
in a joint fugitive task force that provides apprehension and arrest of felons who face current warrants. Sheriffs and police also share the responsibility of executing detention orders for those who are ordered to receive mental health care, but if the subject is being transported, frequently the jurisdiction's deputies will conduct the transport. There is no distinction made by title, all those who work for a sheriff are deputies. All deputies and police officers must meet state certification standards as set by DCJS (Department of Criminal Justice Services). By law, sheriffs are not elected at the same time. County sheriffs are sworn into office on even-numbered years; city sheriffs are sworn into office on odd-numbered years. All deputies must be re-sworn after each election. Sheriffs have complete authority to hire and fire as they see fit; deputy sheriffs serve at the sole pleasure of the sheriff. Sheriff's offices are completely funded by the state, unless a county or city wishes to supplement with funding.


Washington

In
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, each sheriff of the thirty-nine counties is an elected official serving a four-year term. The voters of Pierce County voted to pass Charter Amendment 1 on November 7, 2006, to change the sheriff's position from appointed to elected. The first sheriff's election in 30 years was held in 2008. The sheriff is the chief law-enforcement officer of a county and is empowered to enforce the criminal laws of the State of Washington and the county their office represents, as well as to serve (once the sheriff has received adequate payment for services rendered) or execute civil processes (such as court orders, evictions, property foreclosures, tax warrants) after payment has been made to the civil division of the county sheriff's offic

to maintain county jails; to provide courthouse security; and to provide general law enforcement in unincorporated areas. In many cities, police services are contracted to the sheriff's department in lieu of a city police department. The King County Sheriff's Office, King County Sheriff is the largest sheriff office in the state. The sheriff in this county, however, has no jurisdiction over the King County Jail as it was separated from his or her control.


West Virginia

In
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, the sheriff of a given
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
performs two distinct duties. They are the chief law-enforcement officers in the county, although much of this duty is handled by their chief deputies. They are also responsible for the collection of any taxes due to the county. While many sheriffs have a background in professional law enforcement, others are politicians or other local notables. West Virginia sheriffs are limited to two consecutive four-year terms.


Wisconsin

In
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, sheriff's departments are responsible for law enforcement in towns and villages not large enough to support their own police departments. A sheriff's department may also aid local departments when requested. In Milwaukee County specifically, the sheriff's department is the agency of record for all lettered county trunk highways, the county's freeway system,
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is a civil–military airport south of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States., effective May 21, 2020. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Ai ...
, unincorporated areas, and the county park system.


Wyoming

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
elected its first black sheriff in February 2021.


Cherokee Nation

The Old Cherokee Nation was divided into seven regional districts, each district had its own tribal sheriff with the High Sheriff of the Cherokee Nation serving as the chief law enforcement officer of the nation. The first High Sheriff of the Cherokee Nation was Sam Sixkiller.


Notable American sheriffs

*
Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...
Ford County, Kansas Ford County (county code FO) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 34,287. Its county seat and most populous city is Dodge City. The county is named in honor of Colonel James Hobart Ford. G ...
*
Benjamin McCulloch Brigadier-General Benjamin McCulloch (November 11, 1811 – March 7, 1862) was a soldier in the Texas Revolution, a Texas Ranger, a major-general in the Texas militia and thereafter a major in the United States Army (United States Volunteers) ...
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
(1860) * Buford Pusser
McNairy County, Tennessee McNairy County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 26,075. Its county seat is Selmer, Tennessee, Selmer. McNairy County is located along ...
portrayed in ''Walking Tall'', and in a suite of songs on
Drive-By Truckers Drive-By Truckers are an American rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members (Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as roommates at the University of North Alabama ...
' 2004 album, '' The Dirty South''. *
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...
Fayette County, Kentucky *
Dave Reichert David George Reichert (; born August 29, 1950) is an American politician, veteran, and former sheriff who served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 8th congressional district from 2005 to 2019. He is a Republican and is the former ele ...
King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...
, tracked the Green River killer; elected to Congress in 2004. * David A. Clarke, Jr
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...
* Dwight Radcliff
Pickaway County, Ohio Pickaway County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,539. Its county seat is Circleville. Its name derives from the Pekowi band of Shawnee Indians, who inhabited the area. (See List of Ohio coun ...
, longest serving sheriff in the United States. *
Eugene Coon Eugene L. Coon (November 15, 1928 – October 15, 1998) was a long-time Sheriff of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (serving Pittsburgh and its immediate suburbs) and an influential figure in the local Democratic Party. He was served in the U.S. Arm ...
Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania (1969–1996), famous for halting foreclosure sales on laid off steel workers in the recession of the early 1980s. * Gerald Hege
Davidson County, North Carolina Davidson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,930. Its county seat is Lexington, and its largest city is Thomasville. Davidson County is included in the Winston-Salem, ...
, famous for his "no-deals" behavior and highly unorthodox way of fighting crime. Convicted felon. *
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York State. As of the 2020 census, the population was 954,236. The county seat is Buffalo, which makes up about 28% of the county's population. Both the county and Lake Erie w ...
, the 22nd and 24th
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. * Harry Lee
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Jefferson Parish (french: Paroisse de Jefferson; es, Parroquia de Jefferson) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 440,781. Its parish seat is Gretna, its largest community is Metairie, and i ...
, First Asian-American (of Chinese descent) sheriff in American history, who was known for his colorful antics and controversial tactics. He was a dominating force in Louisiana politics. His annual ''fais do'' was the largest campaign fundraising event in the country by any local official. Served as Jefferson Parish Sheriff from 1980 until his death in 2007. *
Joe Arpaio Joseph Michael Arpaio (; born June 14, 1932) is an American former law enforcement officer and politician. He served as the 36th Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017, losing reelection to Democrat Paul Penzone i ...
– Maricopa County, Arizona (1994–2016), famous for his stance on political issues, including immigration. * John Harris BehanCochise County, Arizona, was sheriff during the
gunfight at the O.K. Corral The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between law enforcement officer, lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cochise County Cowboys, Cowboys that occurred at about 3: ...
. *
John Bunnell John Edwin Bunnell (born May 25, 1944) is a former American sheriff of Multnomah County, Oregon. Bunnell is best known for presenting '' World's Wildest Police Videos'' between 1998 and 2001 and its revival briefly in 2012. Background Bunnell wa ...
– Former sheriff of
Multnomah County, Oregon Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...
; most famous for presenting/hosting ''
World's Wildest Police Videos ''World's Wildest Police Videos'' (shortened to ''Police Videos'' in Season 4) is an American reality TV series that ran on Fox from 1998 to 2001. In 2012, Spike announced that it had commissioned 13 new episodes with the revival of the origina ...
'', appearances on ''COPS'', and other acting roles. *
John Coffee Hays John Coffee "Jack" Hays (January 28, 1817 – April 21, 1883) was an American military officer. A captain in the Texas Rangers and a military officer of the Republic of Texas, Hays served in several armed conflicts from 1836 to 1848, including a ...
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
(1860) * John D. Stewart --
Catoosa County, Georgia Catoosa County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,872. The county seat is Ringgold. The county was created on December 5, 1853. The meaning of the Cherokee l ...
, famous for using
Pontiac Trans Am The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Che ...
's for patrol units. * Lamar Potts
Coweta County, Georgia Coweta County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of Metro Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, the population was 146,158. The county seat is Newnan. Coweta County is included in the Atlanta- ...
* Lawrence RaineyNeshoba County, Mississippi 1963–1968, formerly accused but later cleared of charges relating to the violation of civil rights of three Civil Rights workers down Mississippi, back in 1964. *
Lee Baca Leroy David Baca (born May 27, 1942) is a convicted criminal and former American law enforcement officer who served as the 30th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California from 1998 to 2014. In 2017, he was convicted of felony obstruction of justi ...
Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...
, 1998–2014, Sheriff Baca was known to give special treatment for the famous and connected. He created the "Special Reserves Program" so that he could give concealed weapons permits to favored individuals while withholding consideration for others. Forced to retire by pending federal investigations, in 2016 he pleaded guilty, but later withdrew his plea, to a federal felony of lying to the FBI. Baca was convicted and sentenced in 2017, but is currently out, awaiting the results of his appeal. *
Mike Carona Michael S. Carona (born May 23, 1955) is a convicted felon and former sheriff- coroner of Orange County, California. He gained national prominence during the hunt for the killer of Samantha Runnion. After the quick capture of her murderer, Ale ...
Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
(1999–2009), dubbed "America's Sheriff" by
Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...
. * Pat Garrett
Lincoln County, New Mexico Lincoln County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,497. Its county seat is Carrizozo, while its largest community is Ruidoso. History Lincoln County was named in honor of President Abrah ...
, famous for killing
Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...
. *
Richard Mack Richard Ivan Mack (born December 27, 1952) is the former sheriff of Graham County, Arizona and a political activist. He is known for his role in a successful lawsuit brought against the federal government of the United States which alleged that ...
Graham County, Arizona Graham County is a county in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,533, making it the third-least populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Safford. Graham County composes the ...
, Mack received national attention for opposition to the
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act ( Pub.L. 103–159, 107 Stat. 1536, enacted November 30, 1993), often referred to as the Brady Act or the Brady Bill, is an Act of the United States Congress that mandated federal background checks on ...
. * Sam Sixkiller - Cherokee Nation *
Seth Bullock Seth Bullock (July 23, 1849 – September 23, 1919) was a Canadian-American frontiersman, business proprietor, politician, sheriff, and U.S. Marshal. He was a prominent citizen in Deadwood, South Dakota, where he lived from 1876 until his death, ...
Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had it ...
. *
Sherman Block Sherman Block (July 19, 1924 – October 28, 1998) was the 29th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California from January 1982 until his death. He was preceded by Peter Pitchess and succeeded by Lee Baca. Biography Block was born to a Jewish fam ...
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...
(1982–2000), highest paid government administrator in the United States. *
Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...
In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in
Jonesboro, Georgia Jonesboro is a city in and the county seat of Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,724 as of the 2010 census. The city's name was originally spelled Jonesborough. During the Civil War, the final skirmish in the Atlanta Ca ...
as part of
Clayton County, Georgia Clayton County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2021, the population was estimated to be 297,100 by the Census Bureau. The county seat is Jonesboro. Clayton County is included in the Atlanta metr ...
Sheriff's Department. *
Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...
– Famous actor and reserve deputy sheriff in both Louisiana and Arizona, as seen in '' Steven Seagal: Lawman''. *Terry Johnson –
Alamance County, North Carolina Alamance County (), from the North Carolina Collection's website at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved September 18, 2012. is a county in North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 171,415. Its county seat ...
, notable for a federal investigation of his office's alleged targeting of Hispanics within the county, of which he was cleared of all wrongdoing. *
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
– 26th President of the United States, spent some of his early career as deputy sheriff in Medora, North Dakota. *
Troy Nehls Troy Edwin Nehls (born April 7, 1968) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who is the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district. From 2013 to 2021, he served as the sheriff for Fort Bend County, Texas ...
Fort Bend County, Texas Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded in 1837 and organized the next year. It is named for a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around the fort in early days. T ...
, current Congressional Representative for TX-22. * William J. Brady – Sheriff of Lincoln County during the Lincoln County Wars in New Mexico, United States. He was killed in an ambush by
Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...
.


Fictional American sheriffs

* Nancy Adams, played by
Camille Mitchell Camille Janclaire Mitchell is an actress, writer and director. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Canada, she is the daughter of Cameron Mitchell and trained at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and at The Royal Central School of Sp ...
, sheriff of Lowell County, Kansas on ''
Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
'' *
Leigh Brackett Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 18, 1978) was an American science fiction writer known as "the Queen of Space Opera." She was also a screenwriter, known for '' The Big Sleep'' (1946), '' Rio Bravo'' (1959), and '' The Long Go ...
from the ''
Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
'' films * Jack Carter in ''
Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...
'' * Rosco P. Coltrane on the television series ''
The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television serie ...
'' along with the movies that have followed since * Liz Forbes, played by Marguerite MacIntyre, is the sheriff of Mystic Falls, Virginia on ''
The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
'' *
Buford T. Justice Sheriff Buford T. Justice AKA Smokey Bear is a fictional character played by Jackie Gleason in the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy. He is a determined, foul-mouthed Texas sheriff, from the real Montague County or the fictional Portague County at var ...
of the ''
Smokey and the Bandit ''Smokey and the Bandit'' is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows ...
'' films *
Don Lamb ''Veronica Mars'' is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during UPN's last two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Balancin ...
, played by
Michael Muhney Michael Muhney (born June 12, 1975) is an American actor. His best known roles include Sheriff Don Lamb on the UPN/The CW television series ''Veronica Mars'' between 2004 and 2007 and Adam Newman on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Young and th ...
, is the sheriff of Balboa County, California in the TV series ''
Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...
''. * Heck Tate, sheriff of Maycomb County in Harper Lee's novel,
To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...
. * Hildy Granger, played by Suzanne Somers, appointed to take her late husband's place as sheriff of fictional Lakes County, Nevada (near
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...
) in the TV series ''
She's the Sheriff ''She's the Sheriff'' is an American sitcom television series that aired in first-run syndication from September 19, 1987 to April 1, 1989. Produced by Lorimar Television, the series marked the return of Suzanne Somers to television for the fi ...
''. *
Walt Longmire Walter Longmire is a fictional character created by American author Craig Johnson (b. 1961) Longmire is title character of ''Walt Longmire Mysteries'', a series of mystery novels first published in 2004. The novels were adapted into '' Longmire' ...
, played by Robert Taylor, is the sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming in the TV series '' Longmire''. * J. W. Pepper of the James Bond films '' Live and Let Die'' and '' The Man with the Golden Gun'' * Sheriff Stilinski, played by
Linden Ashby Clarence Linden Garnett Ashby III (born May 23, 1960) is an American actor and director. On television, he portrayed Brett Cooper on the final two seasons of the Fox soap opera ''Melrose Place'' (1997–1999) and Sheriff Noah Stilinski on all ...
, is the sheriff of fictional Beacon Hills, California in ''
Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is chang ...
''. * Sydney Snow, played by
Jonathan Scarfe Jonathan Scarfe (born December 16, 1975) is a Canadian film and television actor. Early life He was born in Toronto, Ontario, to actors Alan Scarfe and Sara Botsford. He dropped out of high school at age 15, and at the age of 16 he spent a yea ...
, the corrupt sheriff in the TV series ''
Hell on Wheels Hell on Wheels was the itinerant collection of flimsily assembled gambling houses, dance halls, saloons, and brothels that followed the army of Union Pacific railroad workers westward as they constructed the First transcontinental railroad in 186 ...
''. *
Emma Swan Emma Swan is a fictional character in ABC's television series '' Once Upon a Time'' and the protagonist of seasons 1-6. She is portrayed by Jennifer Morrison as an adult, by Abby Ross as a teenager, and by Mckenna Grace as a child. Emma appears ...
, played by
Jennifer Morrison Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress, director, producer, and former child model. She is mainly known for her roles as Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical-drama series ''House'' (2004–2012) and Emma Swan in the ABC adventure-fantasy ...
, is the sheriff of Storybrooke, Maine in ''
Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in t ...
''; she shares her duties with her father, David Nolan/
Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, includi ...
. * Andy Taylor of ''
The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...
'' *
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
in ''
Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...
'' *
Sheriff Woody Sheriff Woody Pride is a fictional, pull-string cowboy doll who appears in the Disney–Pixar ''Toy Story'' franchise. In the films, Woody is the main protagonist, alongside Buzz Lightyear. He is primarily voiced by Tom Hanks, who voices him ...
, voiced by
Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
, is a sheriff in the ''Toy Story'' franchise. * Lucas Hood, played by
Antony Starr Antony Starr (born 25 October 1975) is a New Zealand actor, known for his television roles. He played the dual roles of Jethro and Van West on '' Outrageous Fortune'' (2005–10), Lucas Hood on ''Banshee'' (2013–16), and Homelander on '' The Bo ...
, in ''
Banshee A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from sga, ben síde , "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name i ...
''. * Jimmy Brock, played by
Tom Skerritt Thomas Roy Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962. He is known for his film roles in ''M*A*S*H'', ''Alien'', '' The Dead Zone'', '' Top Gun'', '' A ...
, in ''
Picket Fences ''Picket Fences'' is an American family drama television series about the residents of the town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS televis ...
''. * Deputy Standall, Alex Standall's father from ''
Thirteen Reasons Why ''Thirteen Reasons Why'' (stylized as ''TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY'') is a young adult novel written by Jay Asher in 2007, that follows the story of Hannah Baker, a high school freshman, and the thirteen reasons why she kills herself. Following her de ...
''. Other important representations of fictional sheriffs have been Collie Entragian ('' Desperation'' and '' The Regulators''),
Alan Pangborn Castle Rock (sometimes referred to as the Rock) is a fictional town appearing in Stephen King's fictional Maine topography, providing the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories. Castle Rock first appeared in King's 1979 ...
in ''
The Dark Half ''The Dark Half'' is a horror novel by American writer Stephen King, published in 1989. ''Publishers Weekly'' listed ''The Dark Half'' as the second best-selling book of 1989 behind Tom Clancy's ''Clear and Present Danger''. The novel was adapt ...
'' and ''
Needful Things ''Needful Things'' is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first novel King wrote after his rehabilitation from drug and alcohol addiction. It was made into a film of the same name in 1993 which was directed by Frase ...
'', and Edgler Vess in
Dean Koontz Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is an American author. His novels are billed as Thriller (genre), suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror fiction, horror, fantasy, science fiction, Mystery fiction, mystery, and satir ...
's novel, '' Intensity''.


Largest sheriffs' offices in the U.S.


See also

*
Police memorabilia collecting Police memorabilia collecting is a hobby involving the collection and trading of law enforcement-related items such as patches, badges, uniforms, equipment, hats, helmets, training manuals, medals, and decommissioned or restored police cars.In th ...
* '' Schultheiß'', the equivalent medieval German office * ''
Sharif Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, fr ...
'', an
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
office sometimes anglicised as "Sheriff" *
Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...


Notes


References

{{reflist, 2 County government agencies in the United States + Law enforcement in the United States Law enforcement occupations Western (genre) staples and terminology