Sheriff Dept vs. Police Dept.

Sheriff Dept vs. Police Dept.

Although the general public might be inclined to believe that there are little differences between the Sheriff's Department and the Police Department because they both have the purpose of assuring public safety, there are actually a series of dissimilarities between the two. Even with that, the degree to which the job of a sheriff deputy differs from that of a police officer depends on the jurisdiction the two belong to. While sheriffs have somewhat limited power in urban areas, they are the main form of police in most rural regions.

Most police officers have local authority whereas most individuals working for the sheriff's department have influence over the whole county. In urban areas sheriffs can be restricted to performing basic tasks, such as taking care of the county jail, securing courtrooms, and transporting prisoners. In other conditions however, they can take on federal jobs, related to reviewing and charging police officers (Arado, 2000, p. 4).

The main difference between individuals working for the sheriff's department and those working for the police department is the fact that the former enforce law in a county or a certain subdivision within a state while the latter enforce law within the borders of a particular city, town, or village. A police department is typically assigned to a small area. In contrast, a sheriff's department has authority over a large area.

Both departments have the role of imposing safety and protecting the law in the territory they control. However, each of the two performs additional tasks in particular circumstances. A job that sheriff's do and police officers have no authority over is that related to the coroner's office. Sheriff departments are often presented with the task of dealing with deaths that require further analysis.

Police departments normally take care of calls coming only from their jurisdiction, with no power to handle outside calls. In contrast, sheriff departments have a higher role, given that they can take in calls coming from all across the county. Sheriff departments are apparently able to assist police departments because of their higher jurisdiction. It often happens that police departments ask for sheriff departments to step in when they encounter difficulties in accomplishing their missions.

The State Constitution has established the sheriff's office, making it possible for the function's duties to be summarized by the Constitution. Sheriffs are normally assigned on account of elections, as they are elected officials. Police departments are instituted in accordance to municipal regulations, making it possible for police chiefs to be chosen depending on their skills and on their backgrounds.

The office of sheriff stands as the oldest position enforcing the law in the U.S., as it was brought from the old continent along with the first colonists. The term sheriff goes back at the time when people in England referred to law enforcers as shire reeves, considering that they had authority over a shire.

It is uncertain what country was first responsible for the creation of a position presenting an individual with the role of a contemporary sheriff. Some can trace it back at the time of Hammurabi's Code, when people had to behave in accordance with a series of laws imposed by sheriff-like individuals. Also, given the role exercised by Roman consuls, one can believe that they acted similar to a sheriff.

All things considered, the role of sheriff can be linked to an individual who imposes law. Although sheriffs in England had great influence over the lands they were in charge of, matters gradually changed and the position became less important and lost power over the years. The Magna Charta is apparently responsible for limiting the power of sheriffs in England, meant to lessen the number of abuse cases involving a sheriff physically harming royal subjects with the purpose of collecting taxes. If the colonists had not taken it in the U.S. In the seventeenth century it is likely that the sheriff profession would have ended in England.

While sheriffs in England were perceived as merciless lawmen willing to apply any measure in order to be in agreement with the king's requirements, those in the U.S. were seen as noble men who risked their lives in order to protect the law. U.S. citizens appeared to be supportive regarding the sheriffs in their jurisdiction. Thomas Jefferson was particularly interested in supporting sheriffs in their endeavor to perform their duties, as his book, "The value of Constitutions" states that "there is no honorable law enforcement authority in Anglo-American law so ancient as that of the county sheriff whose role as a peace officer goes back at least to the time of Alfred the Great" (Jefferson).

The modern era brings forward the police department as an institution superior to the sheriff's department, with the latter being believed by the masses as being an outdated and limited organization. This happens because people tend to overlook the fact that the sheriff responds faster to the issues of every citizen within his district, in comparison to the police department, which cannot act rapidly in most cases.

Sheriffs have political power over the territory they are in charge of and it thus means that their job makes them more involved than it makes police officers. Recent legislations have harmed the status of sheriff, making it even less possible for the office to exercise the role it had been granted in the Constitution. Sheriff departments have apparently been willing to accept having to accomplish new tasks in addition to the ones they had before. However, most were reluctant to accept having to abandon their previous missions.

Bearing in mind that present day sheriffs behave as they are ordered by the people within their jurisdiction, one can find it obvious that the sheriff job is politically oriented. This makes it possible for sheriffs to be able to exercise both ancient and contemporary tasks. With the Constitution stating the exact mission a sheriff has, it is virtually impossible for the legal system to have any influence over the sheriff office.