¶ … police departments and sheriff departments vary in terms of their layout, length, and specific content. However, they share some core elements in common such as the commitment to the community. This paper analyses three sheriff department mission statements, seeking their commonalities as well as differences. Building on this analysis, a proper mission statement tailored for my department will be presented. The proper mission statement will take into account the size and composition of the local community served, the makeup of the personnel, and the goals and priorities of the community. The first department's mission statement to be evaluated is the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office in New Jersey. The Atlantic County Sheriff's Office organizes its mission statement into sections. The first section is an overview, followed by sections on professional responsibility, community responsiveness, integrity, dedication, cooperation, innovation, fiscal management, and office goals. These sections make the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office mission statement comprehensive in scope. The second department's mission statement to be evaluated is the Cook County Sheriff's Office in Illinois. Contrary to the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office, the Cook County Sheriff's Office maintains a terse mission statement that includes only two paragraphs. It is many times more general than the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office mission statement, which has both advantages and disadvantages. Finally, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office in Colorado will be evaluated too. Unlike either the Atlantic County or Cook County Sheriff's Offices, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office mission statement focuses on a list of values to which the department aspires as opposed to either concrete goals or generalized statements.

The advantages of the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office...

With a mission statement this specific and lengthy, it is less likely to encounter ambiguities or miscommunications with regards to departmental policy or procedure. The Cook County Sheriff's Office mission statement offers greater flexibility, which may be helpful in certain situations in which political expediency is an issue. However, there is more room for corruption when a mission statement remains too vague. The Cook County Sheriff's Office does pledge allegiance to the state and federal constitutions, and also affirms a commitment to "respect, fairness, and compassion." The Boulder County Sheriff's Office also mentions a commitment to the constitutions of the State of Colorado as well as the United States of America. While the Atlantic County Sheriff's Office does not specifically mention allegiance to the state and federal constitutions, such an affirmation should at least be implied. Keywords like "respect" and "community" occur in the mission statements of all three of these sheriff's departments. Words like "fairness" and "partnership" occur only in the mission statements of Cook County and Atlantic County, but not in Boulder.
Although it is brief, the Cook County Sheriff's Department mission statement offers a succinct impression that covers all of the core bases such as commitment to the law, partnership with community, the protection of life and property, and the preservation of peace, law, and order. These are the most fundamental features and functions of the sheriff's department anywhere. Moreover, it is important to note that the Cook County Sheriff's Department mentions maintenance of quality of life as part of the department's mission.

Quality of life is not mentioned in the Boulder County Sheriff's Department's mission statement, but is in Atlantic County. It is important for quality of life to be included in a mission statement, because it is an overarching goal of any social and political institution in the community. Only Boulder County Sheriff's Department mentions diversity, which is something that should be included in a mission statement…