Whats the difference between Sheriffs and Police?
Many people have answered this question, and most people are only answering part of it. Tradidionally a Sheriff’s Office (or department) does more than a police department. A police Department patrols a city and provides law-enforcement for the city. They answer calls for service, do detective work, traffic, write police reports, and generally are the crime fighters for their particular city. A police department is run by a chief of police, who is usually appointed by the mayor. A Sheriff’s Department is a county agency. The Sheriff is an elected official. The Sheriff is responsible for the courts (bailiffs), the county jail, civil processes, evictions, and also providing patrol and law-enforcement services to unicorporated areas of the county. In most states police officers and sheriff deputies all have the same “peace officer” powers. As far as the public is concerned police officers and sheriff deputies should be looked on as the same, as both are peace officers. The simple definiti
