A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly translated to English as sherif.
Law enforcement in Australia is one of the three major components of the country's justice system, along with courts and corrections. Law enforcement officers are employed by all three levels of government – federal, state/territory, and local.
The Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) is the law enforcement agency serving Orange County, California. It currently serves the unincorporated areas of Orange County and thirteen contract cities in the county: Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is an independent state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. The OSBI assists the county sheriff offices and city police departments of the state, and is the primary investigative agency of the state government. OSBI works independent of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety to investigate criminal law violations within the state at the request of statutory authorized requesters. The OSBI was created in 1925 during the term of Governor Martin E. Trapp.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office is the largest law enforcement agency in Lake County, Florida, United States. Per the State of Florida Constitution, the sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of both the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county. The current Sheriff is Peyton C. Grinnell who was elected November, 2016 in the Lake County general election. He succeeds Sheriff Gary Borders, who was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush following the death of Sheriff Chris Daniels in 2006, and was subsequently elected in 2008, and 2012. The agency has been awarded with a certificate of accreditation from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, consequently, both the Law Enforcement and Corrections divisions of the Lake County Sheriff's Office are now accredited.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, also known as the Riverside Sheriff's Office (RSO), is a law enforcement agency in Riverside County, in the U.S. state of California. Overseen by an elected sheriff-coroner, the department serves unincorporated areas of Riverside County as well as some of the incorporated cities in the county by contract. 17 of the county's 26 cities, with populations ranging from 4,958 to 193,365, contract with the department for police services. The county hospital and one tribal community also contract with the department for proactive policing. Riverside County is home to 12 federally recognized Indian reservations. Absent proactive policing and traffic enforcement, the department is responsible for enforcing criminal law on all Native American tribal land within the county. This function is mandated by Public Law 280, enacted in 1953, which transferred the responsibility of criminal law enforcement on tribal land from the federal government to specified state governments including California. The department also operates the county's jail system.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office (SSO), is a local law enforcement agency that serves Sacramento County, California. It provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, as well as incorporated cities within the county that have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services. Currently only Rancho Cordova, and Isleton has such a contract with the department since the Citrus Heights and Elk Grove Police Departments assumed all police authority and responsibility for their communities in 2006. It also holds primary jurisdiction over facilities operated by Sacramento County, such as local parks, marinas, and government buildings; provides marshal service for the Sacramento County Superior Court; operates the Sacramento County Jail and the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove; and provides services such as laboratories and academy training to smaller law-enforcement agencies within the county. The county sheriff is currently Jim Cooper.
The St. Louis County Police Department (SLCPD) is the primary and largest law enforcement agency serving St. Louis County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The current Chief of Police is Colonel Kenneth Gregory. According to the Charter of St. Louis County, the county police chief has all of the criminal law enforcement duties of the sheriff of St. Louis County, except for the operation of the St. Louis County Jail, which is handled by the St. Louis County Department of Justice Services (civilian), court bailiff and service of civil process. Court bailiff/civil process duties are provided by a court-appointed sheriff and his employees, none of whom have law enforcement powers.
In the United States, a sheriff is an official in a county or independent city responsible for keeping the peace and enforcing the law. Unlike most officials in law enforcement in the United States, sheriffs are usually elected, although some states have laws requiring certain law enforcement qualifications of candidates. Elected sheriffs are accountable directly to the citizens of their county, the constitution of their state, and ultimately the United States Constitution.
The Allegany County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) is the primary law enforcement agency for Allegany County, Maryland. The ACSO is a nationally accredited law enforcement agency servicing 430 square miles (1,100 km2) and a population of 75,300.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) is a law enforcement agency serving Alameda County, California. ACSO is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), the American Correctional Association (ACA), National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) and the California Medical Association (CMA).
The Carroll County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) was created in 1837 and is the primary law enforcement agency for Carroll County, MD. It services a population of 170,260 people within 449.13 square miles.
The Charles County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) is a nationally accredited, full-service law enforcement agency servicing a population of 140,416 within 461.0 square miles (1,194 km2) of Charles County, Maryland.
The Cook County Sheriff's Office is the principal law enforcement agency that serves Cook County, Illinois. It is the second largest sheriff's department in the United States, with over 6,900 members when at full operational strength. It is headed by the Cook County Sheriff, currently Thomas Dart.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner's Department (SBSD) serves San Bernardino County, California, which is geographically the largest county in the United States and is headquartered in San Bernardino city. SBSD provides law enforcement services to the unincorporated areas of the county and contract law enforcement services to 14 of the county's cities, including Rancho Cucamonga and Chino Hills, serving a total of 1,029,466 of the county's 2 million residents. The department also operates the county jail system, provides marshal services for the county superior courts, and has numerous other specialized divisions to serve the citizens of San Bernardino County.
The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is a provincial law enforcement agency overseen by the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services of the province of Alberta, Canada. Under the authority of the Peace Officer Act, Alberta Sheriffs are provincial peace officers with jurisdiction over the province of Alberta. The premier of Alberta has the authority to grant emergency police powers to all Alberta sheriffs during major emergencies within the province. The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is the largest sheriff service in Canada.
The Arlington County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) provides law enforcement services for 207,627 people within 26 square miles (67 km2) of jurisdiction within Arlington County, Virginia. These services include responsibility for the operation of the local jail, courthouse security and service of civil papers. The Sheriff may also execute criminal warrants. Unlike the Arlington County Police Department, it is not responsible for patrol or investigations.
The Osceola County Sheriff's Office is the largest and chief law enforcement agency in Osceola County, Florida, located in Kissimmee. Per the State of Florida Constitution, the Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of both the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county. The current Sheriff is Marcos R. Lopez, the 20th sheriff of the county and the first Hispanic to serve as a Sheriff in the county. The agency has over 700 employees and serves a population of 390,341. Osceola County deputies patrol 1,506 square miles (3,900 km2) which include Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Celebration, and Poinciana as well as several other unincorporated communities.
The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office is a law enforcement agency that serves Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and is the largest sheriff's office in the state. The ACSO serves as a local arm of the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System in a number of roles, including: court security, writ services, sales, prisoner transportation, issuing of firearm licenses and execution of warrants. A primary responsibility of the office is fugitive apprehension. The Sheriff's Office also assists local law enforcement agencies with emergency and incident response on an as-needed basis, most notably through the use of trained police canines.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is the principal law enforcement agency that serves Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. It provides law enforcement services for the county's freeways, Milwaukee County Courthouse, the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice Facility, the county-owned Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, and 156 Milwaukee County Parks system, including all of the Milwaukee County lakefront. At one time it was the largest sheriff's department in the state of Wisconsin, with about 750 deputy sheriffs. By 2015 the agency had reduced the number of sworn personnel to approximately 300. The reduction of sworn members was due to hiring correction officers and no longer needing deputies in the county jail.
