Sheriffs usually have smaller staffs, and so they may have more duties and responsibilities than a police chief, who has a larger staff to handle some of his or her responsibilities, such as training or PR. Often, sheriffs are responsible for county jails, which take in prisoners and suspects from the surrounding area, and transfer them to county courts when the time for trial comes. The sheriff is responsible for his officers and their patrols, which may entail covering outlying areas that are farther away from the main station. Sheriff's officers are called deputies. Many sheriffs' departments have disappeared as state and county police take over the duties of sheriffs.

If the sheriff is responsible for the county jail, he or she is also responsible for providing officers to transport prisoners, guard the county courts, and serving warrants and other legal documents. Usually,...

In Florida, sheriffs serve all the counties except Miami-Dade, where there are two elected directors, but no sheriff's department. Throughout the state, sheriffs are recognized as the officers with the most power, or the chief law-enforcement officer of the area, who supersede police chiefs in power and authority.
Clearly, police chiefs and sheriffs share many of the same administrative and civic duties. There are also some clear differences. Sheriffs are elected, and serve as the law enforcement officers for county or unincorporated areas, so they serve a larger area, often with a smaller force. Police chiefs serve cities, and are appointed. They often command much larger forces, and so, do not perform as many duties as a sheriff might be required to perform.