Duties
Most sheriff's offices have a law enforcement role, and their basic function dates back to the origins of the title in feudal England. Although the authority of the sheriff varies from state to state, a sheriff or his deputies (in all states except Delaware, where the sheriff's defined role is going through arbitration) has the power to make arrests within his or her own jurisdiction. Some states extend this authority to adjacent counties or to the entire state.
Many sheriff's offices also perform other functions such as traffic control and enforcement, accident investigations, and maintenance and transportation of prisoners. Larger departments may perform criminal investigations or engage in other specialized law enforcement activities. Some larger sheriff's departments may have aviation (including fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters), canine units, mounted details, or water patrols at their disposal.
Many sheriff's departments enlist the aid of local neighborhoods, using a community policing strategy, in working to prevent crime. The National Neighborhood Watch Program, sponsored by the National Sheriffs' Association, allows citizens and law enforcement officials to cooperate in keeping communities safe.
As the trends of sheriff's law enforcement duties becoming more extensive and complex continues, new career opportunities for people with specialized skills are opening up in sheriff's offices around the country. Among the specialties now in demand are underwater diving, piloting, boating, skiing, radar technology, communications, computer technology, accounting, emergency medicine, and foreign languages.
Sheriff's offices may coexist with other county level law enforcement agencies such as county police, county park police, etc.
Read more about this topic: Sheriffs In The United States
Famous quotes containing the word duties:
“Ah! how much a mother learns from her child! The constant protection of a helpless being forces us to so strict an alliance with virtue, that a woman never shows to full advantage except as a mother. Then alone can her character expand in the fulfillment of all life’s duties and the enjoyment of all its pleasures.”
—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)
“You have begot me, bred me, loved me. I
Return those duties back as are right fit,
Obey you, love you, and most honor you.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“There are always those who are willing to surrender local self-government and turn over their affairs to some national authority in exchange for a payment of money out of the Federal Treasury. Whenever they find some abuse needs correction in their neighborhood, instead of applying the remedy themselves they seek to have a tribunal sent on from Washington to discharge their duties for them, regardless of the fact that in accepting such supervision they are bartering away their freedom.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)