Michigan
In Michigan, sheriffs are constitutionally mandated, elected county officials. All sheriff's offices have general law enforcement powers throughout their entire county, as well as traditional judicial-process, court-protection (bailiff) and jail-operation powers. Sheriff's offices may primarily patrol areas of their county without municipal police services; however, they are free to patrol anywhere in their county, including cities, villages and charter townships that have their own police services. Occasionally, this results in conflict over jurisdiction between municipal police agencies and sheriff's offices.
In some counties (primarily urban counties such as Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, Genesee, Saginaw, Bay, Midland and Washtenaw), sheriff's offices provide dedicated police services under contract to some municipalities, in lieu of those municipalities providing their own police services. (Michigan law provides for or requires municipalities, depending upon their structure, to provide dedicated police services.)
The sheriffs of all 83 Michigan counties are members of the Michigan Sheriffs' Association. This professional organization, formed in 1877, promulgates standardized insignias that are used, to varying degrees, by all Michigan sheriff's offices on their uniforms and vehicles.
Notably, the Michigan State Police have general law-enforcement powers throughout the entire state. Thus, all Michigan residents have at least two levels of general police services (state police and sheriff's offices), while residents of a municipality that has its own police service have a third level of general police service.
Michigan law mandates the county sheriff be responsible for execution of all civil judgments by the circuit court, be primary law enforcement of all inland lakes via a marine division and run the county jail. The law also mandates the sheriff's "office" be established in the county seat.
Currently the Oakland County Sheriff's Department is the largest full service sheriff's department in the state.
Read more about this topic: Sheriffs In The United States, Sheriff Types By State