LEO'S Only Differences between a Sheriff and a Police Officer

[ModularFan]

So Around my town we have regular cops, and we have sheriff officers, both drive around in marked vehicles. What are some things a sheriff can't do that a regular officer is allowed to?

Are they allowed to make vehicle stops?
Are they allowed to respond to crimes in progess?
Are they just allowed to do warrants etc?

Id imagine they're allowed to do all of this if they drive around in marked vehicles with lights and sirens, if not whats the purpose. Only reason I ask is because I've seen 3 of them in row driving past my house.

Overall I just want to know what they do aside from regular cops, aside from warrants etc.

 

[silver03svt]

It depends on the jurisdiction, and the state law on the powers of a sheriff. I live in a county in VA where there is no PD. Only a sheriff's office. By VA law, a sheriff and his deputies have more authority than a PD officer.

 

[FordSVTFan]

It depends on the jurisdiction, and the state law on the powers of a sheriff. I live in a county in VA where there is no PD. Only a sheriff's office. By VA law, a sheriff and his deputies have more authority than a PD officer.

Exactly.

Generally, in the Northeast every municipality has a police force and they perform the normal duties of "police" as expected. They also have sheriff's departments, and they most run the jails, the courthouse, and serve process/warrants.

In the South, for instance Florida, most of the towns are non incorporated and are just part of the county. In these instances the Sheriff is basically the countywide police, with all standard "police" duties as expected. Intermingled in the county are a few incorporated towns and they have their own police force that police within their boundaries, while the county sheriff can still "police" in that town too.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

As stated above; depends on the state.

In Nevada, deputies provide primary law enforcement for unincorporated areas of the state within their county; however, Nevada Revised Statutes gives all Cat 1 LEO's in the state full statewide jurisdiction.

 

[mswaim]

In CA, there is no difference in their "powers", they are classified under the same penal code section as full-time peace officers.

The biggest difference is within their leadership structure.


Police Chiefs are appointed and serve at the whim of a City Manager, Counsel, etc. They can be termiinated with or without cause.

The Sheriff of a county is an elected official. And you know how hard it is to remove a politician.

 

[Lawfficer]

Agree with the Above.

The easist way to think of it, is that they are all cops and can all do the same thing. A Sheriff is usually assigned to a county, and therefore can roll on anything in the County. A "Police Officer" is generally an officer assigned to a specific municipality (i.e. a city, town, village) within that County. When this happens, the municipality will pay their officers to patrol their streets, and the county guys stay outside the city limits.

It basically boils down to geography. When a the Sheriff works the entire County unless the area has their own agency. For example, Washington NJ has its own PD and patrols Washington. Therefore, Warren County Sheriff works the area's not in the City Limits.

 

[Iceman II]

^ Same goes for Texas.