The Role and Duties of the Sheriff in the Criminal Justice Field

The job of the Sheriff is going to vary fromThey are representatives who enforce the law as
jurisdiction to jurisdiction and from state to state.well as practice it.
In many cases, he and his deputies are the policeThey are responsible for the safety of the
force for a county. They aid and assist with thecommunities that they represent as well as
different units within a county.making sure that certain things occur in their
In some cases, they are also the primary lawjurisdictions, such as carrying out court orders for
enforcement for smaller portions of the county.the areas that they preside over. In some
This is due to the economy of the community orinstances, they are to make sure that community
the actual size of the community.service is complete as well as enforcing
Not all communities in a county can afford tosentencing to varying degrees of people who
have their own police department.have been convicted of various crimes.
Primarily the Sheriff in many cases has the dutyThey are not only responsible for the transporting
of being the law enforcement for the county thatof prisoners and the execution of their sentences,
they represent. They have duties such as beingbut also in maintaining the local prison where these
the police force for the courthouse of the countysentences are sometimes served or where
as well as handling the duties of running a countyprisoners are housed awaiting trial. This is just one
jail if one exists.of the many hats that the Sheriff and the office
They are also responsible for overseeingthat it runs have to wear.
transporting of prisoners as well as enforcingSo, he or she is a lawmaker, representative and
traffic laws on county highways if they fall in thelandlord all rolled into one. They maintain the peace
proper jurisdiction. There are some specific thingsin the community that they represent by being
in regards to most County Sheriff departments.elected and maintaining the trust of the people
In many cases, the Sheriffs are elected official.that elect them.
That means that he or she is responsible to theThey also have the responsibility of keeping the
people as they are holding a public office. So notprison and the prisoners housed in the prison in
only do they have the job of enforcing the law,check. Law and order is absolute must in prison or
but they are also responsible for keeping thethings could get out of hand.
people in their county or jurisdiction happy withAs you can see above, the sheriff has lots of
the job that they are doing. In many cases, theduties and role to play in the criminal justice fields.
mayor of the city or the city council appoints theTo put it mildly, it is lots of responsibility for one
police chief, whereas the Sheriffs are publiclittle title, which many people do not think about.
representatives.Note: You are free to reprint or republish this
He or she is still responsible for upholding allarticle. The only condition is that the Resource
aspects of the law. They are not simply a publicBox should be included and the links are clickable.
figure who is allowed to carry a gun and a badge.