A
sheriff is in principle a
legal official with responsibility for a
county. In practice, the specific combination of
legal,
political, and
ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country.
The word "sheriff" is a contraction of the term "
shire reeve". The term, from the
Old English scīrgerefa, designated a royal official responsible for keeping the peace (a "reeve") throughout a shire or county on behalf of the king. The term was preserved in England notwithstanding the
Norman Conquest. From England the term spread to several other countries, like Scotland, Ireland, and the United States.
The position of sheriff now exists in various countries:
- In the United States of America the role of a sheriff varies between different states and counties. In many rural areas, sheriffs and their deputies are the principal form of police, while in urban areas they may have more specialized duties, such as administering the county jail, prisoner transport, serving warrants, service of process or police administration.
In
British English, the
political or
legal office of a sheriff is called a
shrievalty.
History
See article History of the sheriffModern usage
Australia
The office of sheriff was first established in
Australia in 1824. This was simultaneous with the appointment of the first
Chief Justice of
New South Wales.
The role of the sheriff has not been static, nor is it identical in each
Australian State.
In the past his duties included: executing court
judgements, acting as a
coroner, the transportation of prisoners, managing the
gaols, and carrying out executions (through the employment of an anonymous
hangman).
Currently, no Australian State provides for
capital punishment. A government department (usually called the Department of Corrections or similar) now runs the prison system and the Coroner’s Office handles coronial matters.
The sheriff is now largely responsible for enforcing the civil orders and fines of the court (seizing and selling the property of judgement debtors who do not satisfy the debt), providing court security, enforcing arrest warrants, evictions, taking juveniles into custody and running the
jury system.
Canada
Various jurisdictions in
Canada on provincial and sub-provincial levels operate sheriff's departments primarily concerned with court bailiff services such as courtroom security, post-arrest prisoner transfer, serving legal processes, and executing civil judgments. Sheriffs are defined under Section 2 of the
Criminal Code of Canada as "peace officers". In other parts of Canada not covered by a sheriff's agency,
bailiff functions are handled directly by the local, provincial police or
Royal Canadian Mounted Police as appropriate.
Alberta
In 2006, the Province of
Alberta expanded the duties of the provincial sheriffs department to include tasks such as traffic enforcement, VIP protection, investigation and fugitive apprehension(FASST). As of June 2008, the provincial sheriffs department consists of 105 traffic sheriffs who are assigned to one of seven regions in the province. Sheriffs also assist various police services in Alberta with prisoner management. In October 2008, the
Alberta Sheriffs will introduce the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Unit (SCAN).
India
Among cities in
India, only
Mumbai (Bombay),
Chennai (Madras) and
Kolkata (Calcutta) have a sheriff. The sheriff has an apolitical, non-executive role. Sheriffs preside over various city-related functions and conferences and welcome foreign guests. The post is second to the mayor in the protocol list.
United Kingdom
England and Wales
The Sheriff of
Oxford for the civic year 2008/2009,
Cllr John Goddard, speaking shortly after his election as such, with Cllr Susanna Pressel,
Lord Mayor of Oxford, next to him.
The High Sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement position in many
English-speaking nations. The High Sheriff of an English or Welsh county is an unpaid, partly ceremonial post appointed by The Crown through a Warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall the High Sheriff is appointed by the
Duke of Cornwall.
Historically, the
court officers empowered to enforce
High Court writs were called Sheriffs or Sheriff's Officers. In April 2007 they were replaced by
High Court enforcement officers.
City of London
In the
City of London, the position of sheriff is one of the officers of the
Corporation. Two are elected by the
liverymen of the City each year to assist the
Lord Mayor, attend the Central Criminal Court at the
Old Bailey, and present petitions to
Parliament: usually one is an
alderman and the other is not. The aldermanic sheriff is then likely to become Lord Mayor in due course.
Scotland
In
Scotland, a sheriff is an analogous to a judge and sits in a second-tier
court, called the
Sheriff Court. The sheriff is legally qualified, in comparison with a
lay Justice of the Peace who preside over the first-tier
District Courts of Scotland.
The sheriff court is a court of first instance for the majority of both civil and criminal cases. However, the court's powers are limited, so that major crimes such as
rape or
murder and complex or high-value civil cases are dealt with in the
High Court (for criminal matters) or the
Court of Session (for civil matters).
There are six
sheriffdoms in Scotland, each with a
Sheriff Principal. Within each sheriffdom there are several Sheriff
Courts; each court has at least one
courtroom and at least one Sheriff (technically a Sheriff Depute). A Sheriff may sit at different courts throughout the sheriffdom.
Sheriffs are usually
advocates and, increasingly,
solicitors with many years of legal experience. Until recently, they were appointed by the
Scottish Executive, on the advice of the
Lord Advocate. However, the
Scotland Act 1998 introduced the
European Convention of Human Rights into
Scots law. A subsequent legal challenge to the impartiality of the sheriffs based on the provisions of the Convention led to the setting up of the
Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland, which now makes recommendations to the
First Minister, who nominates all judicial appointments in
Scotland other than in the District Court. Nominations are made to the
Prime Minister, who in turn makes the recommendation to the
Queen.
Ireland
In
Ireland, a sheriff can be either:
In both cases sheriffs are charged with enforcing
civil judgements against debtors within their
bailiwick. Outside Dublin and Cork the
County Registrar carries out the functions of the sheriff regarding judgements.
The Dublin and Cork sheriffs also perform all the duties of
returning officers in elections (other than local elections) and some other duties concerning
pounds. Sheriffs may appoint court messengers, subject to approval of the
Minister for Justice, to assist them with their work.
United States
Deputy Sheriff in 1940 {Mogollon, New Mexico}
In the
United States, a sheriff is generally, but not always, the highest
law enforcement officer of a
county. A sheriff is in most cases elected by the population of the county. In some states the sheriff is officially titled "High Sheriff", although the title is very rarely actually used.
The
political election of a person to serve as a
police leader is an almost uniquely American tradition. (The practice has been followed in the British
Channel Island of
Jersey since at least the 16th century.) A sworn law enforcement officer working for a sheriff is called a "sheriff's deputy", "sheriff's officer", or something similar, and is authorized to perform the sheriff's duties. In some states, a sheriff may not be a sworn officer, but merely an elected official in charge of sworn officers. These officers may be subdivided into "
general deputies" and "
special deputies". In some places, the sheriff has the responsibility to recover any deceased persons within their county, in which case the full title is "sheriff-coroner". In some counties, the sheriff's principal deputy is the
warden of the county
jail or other local
correctional institution.
In some areas of the United States, the sheriff is also responsible for collecting the taxes and may have other titles such as tax collector or county treasurer. Although rare, the sheriff may also be responsible for the county civil defense, emergency disaster service, rescue service, or emergency management.
In the U.S., the relationship between the sheriff and other police departments varies widely from
state to state, and indeed in some states from county to county. In the northeastern U.S., the sheriff's duties have been greatly reduced with the advent of state-level law enforcement agencies, especially the
state police and local agencies such as the
county police. In
Vermont, for instance, the elected sheriff is primarily an officer of the County Court, whose duties include running the county jail and serving papers in lawsuits and foreclosures. Law enforcement patrol is performed as well, in support of State Police and in the absence of a municipal police agency in rural towns. Some such towns contract with the sheriff to provide dedicated law enforcement presence in lieu of creating a local police force.
Sheriff offices may coexist with other county level law enforcement agencies such as
county police, county
park police,
county detectives, etc.
The
New York City Sheriff is appointed by the mayor and his or her jurisdiction covers all five county-boroughs of New York City (King's County, Queen's County, Richmond County, Bronx County and New York County). The New York Sheriff is responsible to the city's Finance Department.
There are also states in the US that do not have sheriffs, such as Connecticut. In Connecticut, where county government itself has been abolished, the state and local police have sole responsibility for law enforcement.
See also
- Sharif, an Arab office sometimes anglicised as "Sheriff"
External Link
- http://www.ancestorhunt.com/past-sheriffs.htm
