Police and Sheriff - Police Forums & Law Enforcement Forums @ Officer.com

bastia · 01-10-2006, 12:37 PM

What are the differences betwenn Police Dept. and Sheriff Office?

Many thanks

Fabio Bastianoni Italy

grussem · 01-10-2006, 12:46 PM

There are some other threads on this topic, all you have to do is go back a few pages

deputy x 2 · 01-10-2006, 01:27 PM

It's called "Difference between Police Dept and Sheriff Dept" under General Law Enforcement topics

keith758 · 01-10-2006, 02:15 PM

Sheriff's officers are generally better looking!

Bigg Dogg · 01-10-2006, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keith758

Sheriff's officers are generally better looking!

I agree with his statement.And much more intellegent.We have to be able to spell Sheriff instead of just COP.

SeVere · 01-10-2006, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigg Dogg

I agree with his statement.And much more intellegent.We have to be able to spell Sheriff instead of just COP.

Ya, but a lot of you have trouble spelling Bailiff or Jail Guard!

SlowDownThere · 01-10-2006, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bastia

What are the differences betwenn Police Dept. and Sheriff Office?

Many thanks

Fabio Bastianoni Italy

Fabio: I'll answer your question.

The Sheriff is an elected official at the County level. He generally has a law enforcement agency to run (usually) and the cops that work for him are called Deputy Sheriffs.

At the municipal level (and some States), the Law Enforcement agency is generally called Police.

It's really only a difference of who pays you, the city or the county.

mavriktu · 01-10-2006, 05:19 PM

Redneck is correct ------But Keith is much more poetic.....

SlowDownThere · 01-10-2006, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bastia

What are the differences betwenn Police Dept. and Sheriff Office?

Many thanks

Fabio Bastianoni Italy

Anche, dove in Italia abita? Mi familia era d'Lazio.

AtlCop · 01-10-2006, 06:20 PM

Or.... You can be in Georgia where there is such a thing as County Police that work for a Chief and Deputy Sheriffs that work for a Sheriff.

You are paid by the same entity but one, the Police, answer to an appointed official and the Deputies answer to an elected official.

kywildcats · 01-10-2006, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtlCop

Or.... You can be in Georgia where there is such a thing as County Police that work for a Chief and Deputy Sheriffs that work for a Sheriff.

You are paid by the same entity but one, the Police, answer to an appointed official and the Deputies answer to an elected official.

I applied for the Gwinnett Co. Police Department and found it strange that a county would have a police department instead of a sheriff's office. Can you give some more detail on GA's system? Thanks.

KenW. · 01-10-2006, 10:47 PM

Simply put: Deputy Sheriffs wear tan & green, while city Police wear blue.

Really, the biggest differences are that we deputies serve and enforce court orders like property siezures, evictions, civil and criminal process, maintain the security of district courts, operate the jail, patrol un-incorporated areas, patrol contract cities, host auctions, deal with serving protective orders, and generally get paid less and have more responibilities.

Police on the other hand, write jaywalking tickets to pad their city's budget.

SlowDownThere · 01-10-2006, 11:11 PM

Some counties in NYS have County PD's too. They also have sheriff's departments. The SO's run the jail and do civil process. The head of the CO. PD is a Chief, not a Sheriff. (That is, he is not elected).

AtlCop · 01-11-2006, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kywildcats

I applied for the Gwinnett Co. Police Department and found it strange that a county would have a police department instead of a sheriff's office. Can you give some more detail on GA's system? Thanks.

In Georgia, the Sheriff is a Constitutional Office and as such is considered the most powerful law enforcement officer. Every county in Georgia has a Sheriff's Department. In most of them, the department is the only form of county law enforcement and they do everything.

However, several larger counties have decided to start a police department. In those counties, the Sheriff's Department has been stripped of all of its responsibilities of traditional police work. They run the jail, court security, warrant division, serve civil papers, and have a domestic/family violence unit. They are still fully sworn law enforcement officers and they have statewide jurisdiction since their office is constitutional.

chance3290 · 01-11-2006, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigg Dogg

I agree with his statement.And much more intellegent.We have to be able to spell Sheriff instead of just COP.

Of course you can, its written on your uniforms.

Side note: I teach Judgment Shooting and tell student (SO & PO) that when they ID themselves in a hurry, the easiest thing to do is say: "STOP POLICE!" Simple and easily understood, even in spanish. One deputy said "I won't say that. I'm a Sheriff's Deputy." I asked him how to say stop police in spanish. He shrugged and said " Halt-O, Policia." I then asked, "How do you say Stop, Sheriff's Office, in spanish. He thought for a while and then said "Halt-O Policia."

Centurion44 · 01-11-2006, 12:49 PM

To add to AtlCop's post...

Traditionally, Sheriff's are the law enforcement arm of the court- which is why they do court security, jail, serve warrants, etc. Police are a law enforcement arm of a council, mayor, or board of commisioners.

mattph4716 · 01-11-2006, 03:34 PM

I was thinking about becoming a sheriff but I scored to high on the written test and they made me go to the Police Department.

On a serious note, where I live the S.D is responsible for civil things and Circuit CT security. Baliffs are responsible for District Ct security and the are CO's responsible for the jail. The Police Department handles the traditional police stuff.

keith758 · 01-11-2006, 05:27 PM

In Wisconsin, the County Sheriff is THE Big Dog. The Sheriff's Department has arrest authority throughout the entire county rather than a specific municipality. They are responsible for running the County Jail, court services, court security, traffic, criminal investigations, and any and all aspects of police work. They patrol a larger area than city police, and work alone, many times with their back-up 10 or 15 minutes away.

SlowDownThere · 01-11-2006, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavriktu

Redneck is correct ------But Keith is much more poetic.....

A redneck that speaks Italien. Some things just don't make sense.

MCSD241 · 01-11-2006, 06:38 PM

In 11 mo there won't be any difference in my city (Indianapolis). They are merging the police and Sheriffs dept into one Metro PD

Then I'll be a Deputy no more.

ecpd170 · 01-11-2006, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigg Dogg

I agree with his statement.And much more intellegent.We have to be able to spell Sheriff instead of just COP.

That mean i am smurt then being tho i started in a sherifffff dept but it was to tuff to spull so i went to be a cop instead lol

sergeantbell · 01-26-2006, 04:55 AM

Did you know that "sheriff" actually derived from the middle ages Shire Reeve. This person was paid to catch poachers and collect taxes from the peasants. The job gradually grew into a role as a peace keeper.

Modern day Sheriff's are more politician than peace keeper. Their deputies are law enforcement driven, but the Sheriff just wants to be re-elected.

Police Chief's however only have to please one person....the Mayor.

hounddog · 01-26-2006, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sergeantbell

Police Chief's however only have to please one person....the Mayor.

Or Township Supervisor
Or County Board (depending on what state)
Or The Governor (ie State Police)

KenW. · 01-26-2006, 10:11 AM

And, the chief serves at the please of those folks, and can be "let go" for just about any cause. Especially with a change in the city's leadership.

miked6 · 01-26-2006, 05:25 PM

Genreally to be a police officer one would have to have aquired an education level competent of speaking in complete sentences, while I don't believe that sheriff's department hold such high standards. I also believe that it is prereq. that all sheriffs depties in the south must weigh 300+ lbs. and use some form of smokeless tobacco

I am just kidding. Not to much difference between the road officers/deputies at a full service sheriff's office. In my book if you wear a badge were all on the same team. Sheriff's are elected, chiefs appointed. Sheriff's offices run the jail, serve warrants, and provide courthouse security. Many sheriff's offices perform all the functions of standard police department in addition to sheriff's office duties. These are referred to as a full service sheriff's office. Generally there is more job security in a police department but also a much more stringent array of policies and procedures (mostly just cya).

Hope that helps a little.